MADRID, 8 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The cost per hour worked increased by 5.8% in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the same period in 2022, thus registering its largest increase since the arrival of Covid, in the second quarter of 2020, according to provisional data from the Cost Index. Harmonized Labor Cost (ICLA) published this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
With the rebound in the October-December period, which increases by four tenths that experienced in the previous quarter, labor costs are experiencing ten quarters of year-on-year increases.
That of the fourth quarter of 2023 has been the second most pronounced year-on-year advance since the pandemic broke out, only surpassed by that of the second quarter of 2023, which was 6.5%.
By components, the salary cost increased by 4.8% in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the same quarter of 2022, while other costs rose by 9%. The labor cost, excluding extraordinary payments and delays, grew by 6.2% year-on-year in the last section of 2023.
Eliminating seasonal and calendar effects, the labor cost per hour worked increased by 5.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2023, a rate four tenths lower than that of the previous quarter. With this rebound, there are also ten quarters of positive rates in the corrected series.
In a quarterly rate (fourth quarter of 2023 over the third quarter of the same year), the labor cost per hour worked increased by 1.1% in the series corrected for seasonal and calendar effects, two tenths more than in the previous quarter. With this increase, ten quarters of quarterly increases have also accumulated.
Without taking into account the seasonal and calendar adjustment, the labor cost rose 4.1% between October and December due, fundamentally, to the greater weight of extraordinary payments compared to the previous quarter.
By components, the salary cost grew by 6.6% quarterly, while other costs fell by 3%. The labor cost, excluding extraordinary payments and delays, contracted by 2.7% compared to the third quarter of 2023.
THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SALARY, THE WHICH RISE THE MOST
The activities that recorded the largest annual increases in labor costs in the fourth quarter of 2023 were information and communications (9.6%); professional, scientific and technical activities (8.2%) and wholesale trade (8.1%). Labor costs only decreased in the supply of energy, water, steam and air conditioning (-2.8%).
If seasonal and calendar effects are eliminated, the activities where labor costs increased the most in the fourth quarter of 2023 in relation to the same period in 2022 were also information and communications (8.9%); professional, scientific and technical activities (8.4%) and wholesale trade (7.3%).
The only year-on-year cut in the corrected series also occurred in energy supply, where labor costs fell 3.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.
Regarding salaries, information and communications also led the year-on-year increases in the fourth quarter of last year, with an increase of 8.8%, followed by professional activities (7.7%) and administrative activities (7.2%). , while the only decline in wages occurred in energy supply (-5.5%).
