Index of Wages Cost, 1st Quarter 2021

HELLENIC REPUBLIC

HELLENIC STATISTICAL AUTHORITY

Piraeus, 16 June 2021

PRESS RELEASE

INDEX OF WAGES COST: 1st quarter 2021

Τhe Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) announces the quarterly Index of Wages Cost for the whole Economy1 excluding Primary Sector and Activities of Households, for the 1st quarter 2021. More specifically:

• The unadjusted Index of Wages Cost (not seasonally adjusted and not adjusted for the number of working days) for the 1st quarter 2021, compared with the corresponding index of the 1st quarter 2020, recorded an increase of 6.6%, while an increase of 1.6% was recorded when comparing the corresponding index of 2020 with that of 2019 (Table 1, Index I).
• The Index of Wages Cost for the 1st quarter 2021, seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for the number of working days, recorded an increase of 5.8%, compared with the corresponding index of the 1st quarter of 2020, while an increase of 0.7% was recorded when comparing the corresponding index of 2020 with that of 2019 (Table 1, Index II).
• The Index of Wages Cost for the 1st quarter 2021, adjusted for the number of working days but not seasonally adjusted recorded an increase of 6.5% compared with the corresponding index of the 1st quarter of 2020, while an increase of 2.5% was recorded when comparing the corresponding index of 2020 with that of 2019 (Table 1, Index III).

Graph 1 below presents the evolution of the Index of Wages Cost for the period from the 1st quarter 2008 to the 1st quarter 2021 (Not Adjusted, Seasonally Adjusted and Working Days Adjusted), while Graphs 2-4 depict the Index and the annual rates of change for the 1st quarter of 2008-2021.

Graph 1: Evolution of the Index of Wages Cost: Q1 2008 - Q1 2021

150
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3	Q1	Q3
2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021

I. Not Adjusted

II. Seasonally

Adjusted

III. Working Days

Adjusted

Information on methodological issues	Information for data provision
Population, Employment and Cost of Living Statistics Division	Τηλ. 213 135 2022
Section of Labour Statistics	e-mail:[e-mail]
Dimitris Vatikiotis
Tel: [phone]
E-mail :[e-mail]

1 Sections B-S of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities, NACE Rev. 2

	Table 1: Evolution of the Index of Wages Cost for Sections B-S of NACE Rev. 2
Ι.	Not seasonally adjusted data and not adjusted for the number of the working days2
ΙΙ.	Seasonally adjusted data but not adjusted for the number of the working days
ΙΙΙ.	Not seasonally adjusted data but adjusted for the number of the working days

						q-o-q: Quarterly rate of change (%)		y-o-y: Annual rate of change (%)
																													Base Year: 2016 = 100.0
	Year			Quarter			Index			q-o-q			y-o-y				Index			q-o-q			y-o-y			Index			q-o-q			y-o-y
					Ι			Change (%)			Change (%)				ΙΙ			Change (%)			Change (%)			ΙΙΙ			Change (%)			Change (%)
				Q1	114.7		-5.4		4.4			125.7		6.2		4.6		114.1		-3.8		3.8
	2008			Q2			124.2			8.3			4.6				127.5			1.4			4.4			124.1			8.8			4.6
			Q3	136.4		9.9		4.8			128.1		0.4		4.5		139.6		12.4	6.8
				Q4			127.0			-6.9			4.8				122.5			-4.4			3.4			126.6			-9.3			6.8
				Q1	109.8		-13.6		-4.3			120.7		-1.4		-4.0		110.4		-12.8	-3.2
	2009			Q2			124.4			13.3			0.2				126.7			4.9			-0.7			124.4			12.7			0.2
			Q3	129.4		4.0		-5.2			126.4		-0.2		-1.3		129.1		3.8		-7.5
				Q4			137.6			6.3			8.3				129.9			2.8			6.1			137.5			6.5			8.6
				Q1	123.7		-10.1		12.6			134.7		3.6		11.6		124.2		-9.7		12.5
	2010			Q2			124.0			0.3			-0.3				127.8			-5.1			0.9			124.4			0.2			0.0
			Q3	125.3		1.1		-3.1		124.5		-2.5		-1.5		124.6		0.1		-3.5
				Q4			131.5			4.9			-4.4			124.1			-0.4			-4.5			132.3			6.2			-3.7
				Q1	116.1		-11.7		-6.1		123.8		-0.2		-8.0		117.1		-11.5	-5.7
	2011			Q2			121.6			4.7			-1.9			124.0			0.1			-3.0			122.0			4.2			-2.0
			Q3	118.5		-2.5		-5.4		118.8		-4.2		-4.6		118.6		-2.8		-4.8
				Q4			124.3			4.9			-5.5			118.6			-0.1			-4.4			124.1			4.6			-6.2
				Q1	104.6		-15.8		-9.9		115.1		-3.0		-7.1		103.9		-16.3	-11.3
	2012			Q2			111.2			6.3			-8.5			113.0			-1.8			-8.9			111.8			7.7			-8.3
			Q3	104.9		-5.7		-11.5		107.5		-4.9		-9.5		104.9		-6.2		-11.5
				Q4			119.8			14.2			-3.6			111.8			4.0			-5.8			119.1			13.5			-4.0
				Q1	91.4		-23.7		-12.6		98.7		-11.6		-14.2		92.2		-22.6	-11.2
	2013			Q2			100.1			9.5			-10.0			100.1			1.4			-11.4			100.5			9.0			-10.1
			Q3	98.3		-1.8		-6.3		99.3		-0.8		-7.6		98.4		-2.1		-6.2
				Q4			106.3			8.2			-11.2			96.4			-2.9			-13.7			107.9			9.6			-9.5
				Q1	87.8		-17.4		-3.9		96.5		0.1		-2.3		88.2		-18.2	-4.4
	2014			Q2			98.1			11.6			-2.0			97.4			0.9			-2.7			98.5			11.7			-2.0
			Q3	104.2		6.3		6.0		101.1		3.9		1.8		106.4		8.1		8.2
				Q4			108.0			3.6			1.5			98.6			-2.5			2.2			109.4			2.8			1.4
				Q1	87.2		-19.2		-0.7		96.8		-1.8		0.3		86.8		-20.6	-1.6
	2015			Q2			93.9			7.7			-4.2			95.3			-1.5			-2.1			94.3			8.7			-4.2
			Q3	105.4		12.2		1.1		100.7		5.6		-0.5		107.6		14.0	1.1
				Q4			108.0			2.5			0.0			99.0			-1.7			0.4			108.6			0.9			-0.7
				Q1	88.0		-18.5		0.9		97.4		-1.6		0.7		87.9		-19.0	1.2
	2016			Q2			97.7			11.1			4.1			99.8			2.4			4.7			99.2			12.8			5.1
			Q3	106.8	9.3	1.4		102.2	2.4	1.5		107.7	8.6	0.2
				Q4			107.4			0.6			-0.5			100.6			-1.6			1.6			105.2			-2.3			-3.1
				Q1	89.1	-17.1	1.3		99.1	-1.5	1.7		89.2	-15.2	1.5
	2017			Q2			98.6			10.7			0.9			100.9			1.8			1.1			97.8			9.6			-1.4
			Q3	105.6	7.1	-1.2		101.8	0.9	-0.4		104.3	6.7	-3.2
				Q4			110.3			4.5			2.7			101.9			0.2			1.4			109.0			4.4			3.6
				Q1	93.5	-15.3	4.9		104.1	2.1	5.0		93.0	-14.6	4.2
	2018			Q2			102.0			9.2			3.5				103.6			-0.5			2.7			101.2			8.8			3.5
			Q3	107.2	5.1	1.5		106.5	2.8	4.7		106.0	4.7	1.6
				Q4			112.3			4.7			1.7				107.1			0.5			5.0			111.1			4.9			2.0

2 The variation of the index is due to seasonality and to the payment of bonuses. During the 4th quarter (Q4) the 14th salary is paid alongside bonuses, thus resulting in an increase in the index.

2

(Table 1 - Continued)

	Year			Quarter			Index			q-o-q			y-o-y			Index			q-o-q			y-o-y			Index			q-o-q			y-o-y
					Ι			Change (%)			Change (%)			ΙΙ			Change (%)			Change (%)			ΙΙΙ			Change (%)			Change (%)
				Q1	94.0	-16.3	0.5		106.0	-1.0	1.8		93.3	-16.0	0.3
	2019			Q2			103.6			10.3			1.5			105.9			-0.1			2.2			103.7			11.2			2.5
			Q3	109.5	5.7	2.2		105.2	-0.6	-1.2		110.6	6.6	4.4
				Q4			115.0			5.0			2.4			107.0			1.7			-0.1			115.6			4.5			4.0
				Q1	95.5	-17.0	1.6		106.7	-0.3	0.7		95.6	-17.3	2.5
	2020			Q2			109.1			14.2			5.3			110.0			3.1			3.9			109.3			14.3			5.4
			Q3	112.1	2.7	2.4		108.4	-1.5	3.0		113.0	3.4	2.2
				Q4			120.7			7.7			5.0			111.8			3.1			4.5			120.9			7.0			4.6
	2021			Q1	101.8	-15.7	6.6		112.9	1.0	5.8		101.8	-15.8	6.5

Graph 2

Evolution of unadjusted Wages Cost Index1

1st quarter 2008-2021 (Base Year: 2016=100.0)

																60
	140
				123.7
	120	114.7109.8		116.1											40
			104.6											Annual
														101.8
														95.5
	100						91.4					93.5	94.0		20
						87.8	87.2	88.0	89.1
Index	80			12.6											6.6	0	change of rate
	4.4										4.9		1.6
								0.9	1.3	0.5
							-3.9	-0.7
60		-4.3		-6.1
		-9.9
					-12.6									-20
	40																(%)
	20															-40
	0	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	-60

Index

Annual rate of change (%)

1 Sections B-S of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities, NACE Rev. 2

3

Graph 3

				Evolution of Wages Cost Index1 seasonally adjusted
				1st quarter 2008-2021 (Base Year: 2016=100.0)
			134.7											60
	140
	125.7	120.7		123.8
				115.1										40
	120												112.9	Annual
										104.1 106.0	106.7
						98.7			97.4	99.1
	100					96.5	96.8					20
Index	80		11.6												0	change of rate
4.6										5.0			5.8
						0.3	0.7	1.7	1.8	0.7
60	-4.0					-2.3
	-8.0
			-7.1										-20
				-14.2
	40															(%)
	20														-40
	0	2009	2010				2014	2015				2019	2020		-60
	2008	2011	2012	2013	2016	2017	2018	2021

Index

Annual rate of change (%)

Graph 4

Evolution of Wages Cost Index1 working days adjusted 1st quarter 2008-2021 (Base Year: 2016=100.0)

																60
	140			124.2
				117.1
	120	114.1													40	Annual
	110.4
				103.9
													101.8
														95.6
	100						92.2				89.2	93.0	93.3		20
						88.2	86.8	87.9
														changeof rate
Index	80			12.5												0
	3.8										4.2			6.5
								1.2	1.5		2.5
							-1.6	0.3
60		-3.2					-4.4
		-5.7
			-11.2
40					-11.3									-20
															(%)
	20															-40
	0	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	-60

Index

Annual rate of change (%)

1 Sections B-S of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities, NACE Rev. 2

4

EXPLANATORY NOTES

General

Purpose of the index

Definitions

Legal Framework

Data collection during the pandemic period of COVID-19

Statistical

Classification

The Index of Wages Cost for Sections B-S of NACE Rev. 2 is a Laspeyres quarterly index with base year the year 2016 (2016=100.00).

The purpose of this index is to record the evolution of the hourly labour costs by branch of economic activity (Sections B-S of the European classification of economic activities, NACE Rev. 2).

Data for the calculation of the Index are collected with the Labour Cost and Job Vacancies survey which is conducted on a quarterly basis.

The statistical population is the total number of enterprises employing at least five (5) employees and belong to sections B-S of Nace Rev.2. The survey covers the entire Country.

The one-stage stratified sampling method was applied, using the enterprise as a surveyed unit. The strata are derived from the combinations of the 2-digit code of economic activity (NACE Rev.2) and the enterprise size class.

The sampling frame is the current Business Register of ELSTAT.

The survey is conducted by visits on enterprise premises by means of printed questionnaires (PAPI).

The Index of Wages Cost for each Section of NACE Rev. 2 is calculated as the ratio of the hourly wage of each reference quarter to the annual average hourly wage of the base year 2016.

The hourly wage is defined as the ratio of the gross earnings to the hours worked.

Gross earnings include salaries and wages (regular payments and overtime payments), bonuses and extraordinary bonuses (Christmas and Easter bonuses, annual leave and other kind of bonuses not paid on a regular basis), as well as payments for days not worked (e.g. holidays, national holidays, maternity leave, child benefits, severance payments until the 4th quarter of 2012, etc).

From the 1st quarter of 2013 and thereafter the severance payments are not included in the gross earnings.

The compilation of the indices was based on data collected by enterprises and the use of an estimation method for the calculation of the missing data.

For the calculation of the quarterly aggregate Labour Cost Index (LCI) of a group of Sections, the LCI of each Section is weighted on the basis of the contribution of the annual labour cost of employees of this section in the previous year to the total labour cost of employees of all sections of the group in the above year.

The Index of Wages Cost for the sections B-S is one of the main components of the LCI and it is compiled by virtue of the Regulation (EC) 450/2003 and the Implementing Regulation (EC) 1216/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The Index of Wages Cost is also made available to and released by international organizations (EUROSTAT, IMF).

Data were collected during April and May 2021 and the response rate of the enterprises was lower compared to the corresponding period of the previous year due to the special circumstances resulting from the restrictive measures imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NACE Rev. 2 classification of economic activities is used. The Sections covered by the index are B to S.

5