Labour Cost in Spain

It tracks the change in labour cost per worker in Spain, that is, the total expense a firm incurs to employ its staff: gross wages and salaries (including all supplements), employer social-security contributions and other net employment-related costs. It is published by INE.

It comes from INE's Quarterly Labour Cost Survey, as the average cost per worker (and also per hour worked). Both the index and its year-on-year rate of change are published, in nominal terms.

Since labour costs make up a large share of firms' expenses, it is a useful indicator of inflationary pressure: if it rises sharply, companies may pass it on to final prices or adjust headcount. It is a key variable for assessing competitiveness and for the ECB.

Labour costs across the euro area are not fully harmonised, so there are differences between countries in definition, calculation and coverage; the series is also quarterly and sensitive to calendar effects and to shifts in the composition of employment.