Labour price index; index figures 2015=100; national accounts

This table provides information on labour price developments, i.e. the development of wage costs per hour worked by employees, corrected for changes in the personnel structure. The labor price index divides the total increase in wage costs per hour worked into a price component and a structural effect.

Data available from: 2001

Status of the figures: Data from 2001 up to and including 2021 are final. The figures concerning 2022 and 2023 are provisional.

Changes as of October 2023: Compared to the previous version the figures for the reference period '2022 July - 2023 June' are added and the figures are adjusted for the period '2021 January - 2021 December' and onwards.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis and governmental measures, there are fluctuations in the underlying data that can affect the outcome of the Labour price index. From March 2020, the hours worked and wage costs are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the government measures taken. The wage costs decreased sharply due to the large wage compensation scheme (the so-called NOW subsidy) and the hours worked also decreased sharply.

For the years 2020 and 2021 the method to estimate the hours worked of employees differs from the usual method. Due to the COVID-19 crisis the hours worked suddenly decreased sharply in certain industries. The regular data sources did not provide sufficient information to capture the decrease in hours worked. To properly incorporate the decrease of the hours worked in our quarterly estimate, the Labor Force Survey (LFS) is used as an additional source. The hours worked are estimated using growth rates from the LFS. The growth rates are applied in (parts of) the industries in which the effect of the COVID-19 crisis is substantial.

When will new figures become available? New figures are published three to four months after the end of the reference period.