Finland Times

Seasonally adjusted labour costs rose by 0.9 per cent in the last quarter.

 Labour costs without one-off pay items, such as performance-based bonuses, went up by 0.6 per cent compared to the corresponding period one year ago, the data show.

Over the same period, the index of wage and salary earnings for the private sector went up by 1.4 per cent.
In the central government sector, labour costs went down by 0.7 per cent in October to December 2014 when compared with the respective period of the year before.

Labour costs without one-off pay items went down by 0.9 per cent over the same period. Seasonally adjusted labour costs went up by 0.1 per cent.

The labour costs rose by 0.2 per cent in the local government sector during the last quarter of 2014 compared with the respective period of the year before.

Costs without one-off pay items, however, remained unchanged year-on-year.
The fourth quarter of 2014 had one working day more than in 2013. The variation in the number of working days in the same quarter between different years has an effect on labour costs, because the cost is calculated per hours worked.
Compared to the year before, the average increase of labour costs during 2014 was 1.5 per cent in the private sector, 2.1 per cent in the central government sector and 1.6 per cent in the local government sector.

Seasonally adjusted average increase of 2014 compared to the year before was 1.3 per cent in the private sector and 1.9 per cent in the central government sector. The increase in social insurance
contributions raised the cost of an hour worked in all sectors in 2014.

Calculated by industry, the cost of an hour worked went down by 0.1 per cent in all manufacturing in October to December 2014 compared with the respective period of the year before. In the chemical industry, the cost of an hour worked grew by 3.0 per cent and in the metal industry it decreased by 1.2 per cent.

Growth in the construction industry amounted to 0.7 per cent as per the data.

The cost of an hour worked in business service activities went up by 0.7 per cent. In services, the cost of an hour worked increased most in information and communication, by 3.5 per cent, and the biggest decline was seen in wholesale and retail trade, by 1.2 per cent.
The seasonally adjusted cost of an hour worked in all manufacturing went up by 0.3 per cent in the last quarter compared with the corresponding period of 2013.   

Annual changes in labour costs according to Standard Industrial Classification 2008, 4th quarter 2014

Source: Wages, Salaries and Labour Costs, Statistics Finland.