While hourly wages are rising across the European Union, Greece stands out with a decline, according to new data from Eurostat. In the third quarter of 2024, Greece saw a 2.9% drop in hourly wage rates, contrasting sharply with the EU average of a 5.1% increase
This places Greece at the bottom of the list among EU member states, all of which recorded wage growth during the same period. Countries like Croatia and Romania saw significant increases, with 17% and 14% rises respectively.
The data reveals fluctuating labor costs in Greece over recent quarters.
After a 6.7% increase in the third quarter of 2023 and a further 9.3% rise in the second quarter of 2024, the third quarter of this year saw a notable reversal with the 2.9% decline.
This trend diverges from the broader picture in the Eurozone and the EU, where hourly labor costs have steadily increased.
The Eurozone recorded a 4.6% rise, while the EU saw a 5.1% increase in hourly labor costs.
Both wages and salaries and non-wage costs contributed to this overall increase. In the Eurozone, wages and salaries rose by 4.4%, while non-wage costs saw a sharper increase of 5.2%.
For the EU, wages and salaries increased by 5.0%, and non-wage costs rose by 5.3%.3
These figures highlight the unique challenges facing Greece's labor market and raise concerns about the country's competitiveness within the EU.
The reasons behind this wage decline warrant further analysis to understand the underlying economic and employment factors at play.