Labor costs rise in Spain in 2018

MADRID, March 19 (Xinhua) -- labor costs rose in Spain by 0.9 percent in 2018, according to data published on Tuesday by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE).

The INE 'Quarterly Review of labor Costs' showed that the average monthly cost of employing a worker increased by 0.9 percent to 2,629.52 euros during 2018, with costs increasing by 1.9 percent in the third quarter of the year and dropping by 0.9 percent in the last three months of 2018.

labor costs include the salary a company pays for a worker, as well as other expenses, such as social security payments, bonuses at the end of a contract and in some cases, uniforms.

INE indicated that the average monthly salary also rose by 0.9 percent to 2,039.01 euros, with other costs climbing to 653.51 euros a month.

Different sectors of the economy performed differently with regards to labor costs, with the construction sector experiencing the biggest rise in labor costs, up 2.1 percent, due to higher wages, according to the INE.

For the industrial sector, labor costs went up by 0.2 percent, due to a fall in the number of extra payments.

Meanwhile, the average length of the working week in Spain during 2018 - taking into account both full time and part-time posts - was 34.2 hours. (1 euro =1.13 US dollars)