Labour price index; index figures 2015=100; National Accounts

Labour price index; index figures 2015=100; National Accounts

Sector/branches (SIC 2008) Periods Labour price index (2015=100) Year-on-year change price of labour (%) Wage costs per hour worked (2015=100) Year-on-year change wage costs per hour (%) Structural effect (%)
A-U All economic activities 2001 77.3 . 71.6 . .
A-U All economic activities 2005 85.5 2.0 81.6 2.8 0.8
A-U All economic activities 2010 94.4 0.3 92.6 1.0 0.7
A-U All economic activities 2015 100.0 0.2 100.0 0.0 -0.1
A-U All economic activities 2016 101.0 1.0 100.7 0.7 -0.3
A-U All economic activities 2017 102.6 1.6 101.7 1.0 -0.5
A-U All economic activities 2018 104.8 2.2 103.7 1.9 -0.3
A-U All economic activities 2019 107.3 2.4 106.3 2.5 0.1
A-U All economic activities 2020 110.3 2.8 110.9 4.3 1.5
A-U All economic activities 2021 111.3 0.9 111.7 0.8 -0.1
A-U All economic activities 2022* 118.7 6.7 118.5 6.1 -0.5
A-U All economic activities 2021 April - 2022 March* 112.4 3.5 112.4 2.5 -0.9
A-U All economic activities 2021 July - 2022 June* 114.7 4.4 114.5 3.5 -0.9
A-U All economic activities 2021 October - 2022 September* 116.1 4.9 116.0 4.2 -0.7
A-U All economic activities 2022 January - 2022 December* 118.7 6.7 118.5 6.1 -0.5
A-U All economic activities 2022 April - 2023 March* 120.4 7.1 120.3 7.0 -0.1
A-U All economic activities 2022 July - 2023 June* 122.3 6.6 122.4 6.9 0.2
A-U All economic activities 2022 October - 2023 September* 124.1 6.9 124.3 7.2 0.3
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Dataset is not available.


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 January 2024:
Compared to the previous version the figures for the reference period '2022 October - 2023 September' are added and the figures are adjusted for the period '2022 July - 2023 June' 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.

Description topics

Labour price index
The labour price index reflects changes in the price of labour. This concerns the development of the wage costs per hour worked by employees, corrected for changes in the personnel structure.
Year-on-year change price of labour
Percentage change relative to the same period one year previously.
The labour price index reflects changes in the price of labour. This concerns the development of the wage costs per hour worked by employees, corrected for changes in the personnel structure.
Wage costs per hour worked
Wage costs divided by hours worked.
The total compensation of employees paid by employers plus taxes on wage costs minus wage cost subsidies.
- Compensation of employees is the total remuneration paid by employers to their employees in return for work done. Compensation of employees is classified in wages and salaries and employers' social contributions.
- Taxes on wage costs are taxes paid by employers on certain wage components, for example wages in kind.
- Wage cost subsidies are subsidies depending on the total wage bill, the number of employees, or on the employment of certain categories of persons, such as physically disabled or long-term unemployed persons.
Year-on-year change wage costs per hour
Percentage change relative to the same period one year previously.
The total compensation of employees paid by employers plus taxes on wage costs minus wage cost subsidies.
- Compensation of employees is the total remuneration paid by employers to their employees in return for work done. Compensation of employees is classified in wages and salaries and employers' social contributions.
- Taxes on wage costs are taxes paid by employers on certain wage components, for example wages in kind.
- Wage cost subsidies are subsidies depending on the total wage bill, the number of employees, or on the employment of certain categories of persons, such as physically disabled or long-term unemployed persons.
Structural effect
The part of the development of wage costs per hour worked that is caused by changes in the employee structure. An increase in the share of highly educated employees, for example, contributes to an increase in wage costs per hour worked because highly educated employees are on average paid more.