Bulgaria's Q3 Labour Cost Index Rises 7.4% Y/Y

Bulgaria's total hourly labour cost index for the third quarter rose by 7.4% on the year, the office of national statistics NSI announced on Friday.

The total hourly labour cost grew by 8.0% in industry, 7.9% in services and 6.5% in construction, the NSI said in a quarterly survey, citing preliminary data.

In the structure of labour costs, the cost of wages and salaries  per hour worked increased by 7.6% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2015, while non-wage costs rose by 7.1%. All data has been adjusted for the number of workdays.

The labour cost index is a short-term indicator measuring the quarterly change inhourly labour costs incurred by the employers as a result of hiring the work force. The Quarterly Survey on employees, hours worked, wages and salaries and other expenditure paid by the employer is the main source used for the calculation of the index.