Focus: Recent wage trends in the euro area

Wage growth has remained relatively low in the euro area despite an environment of improving labour markets. In the fourth quarter of 2015, growth in compensation per employee stood at 1.3% in year-on-year terms, being one of the lowest figures registered since the start of monetary union. The growth in negotiated wages is more robust, but also registered historically low figures in 2015. At the
same time, the unemployment rate, while still high, has been declining since the second quarter of 2013, indicating a reduction in the amount of slack in the labour market.

ECB: Publications: Economic Bulletin https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/economic-bulletin/html/index.en.html

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