In the 1st quarter of 2023, the Labour Cost Index (LCI) recorded a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. In the previous quarter, it had increased 1.4%.

The wage costs (per hour actually worked) increased by 5.9%, and the other labour costs (also per hour actually worked) increased by 7.3%, compared with the same period of the previous year.

The year-on-year change of the LCI resulted also from the increase of 7.9% in the average cost per employee and the 1.5% rise in the number of hours actually worked per employee. The increase of the first component was common to all economic activities, with higher variations than those observed in the preceding quarter. The lowest increase was registered in the Public Administration (6.6%) and the largest was in Construction (10.3%). The hours actually worked per employee also increased in all economic activities, except for the Public Administration, where they decreased 1.1%. The highest increase was observed in Services (3.4%). As a result of these variations, the LCI increased in all economic activities, with the largest increase being recorded in the Public Administration.