Total hourly labor costs in Bulgaria rose by 7.3 percent y-o-y in the second quarter of 2016, according to preliminary data published by the National Statistics Office. Total hourly labor costs grew by 8.6 percent in industry, 6.6 percent in services and 6.7 percent in construction.
Real estate activities accounted for the highest annual growths in total labor costs at 12.2 percent, followed by manufacturing (10.6 percent) and arts, entertainment and recreation (9.2 percent). Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities posted the lowest increase in total labor costs at 0.8 percent, followed by accommodation and food service activities (1.6 percent). A 0.3-percent decrease in total labor costs was posted in mining and quarrying.
