High growth of labour costs in the Czech Republic for 4Q

Labour costs in the Czech Republic grew in the fourth quarter of 2009 by more than almost any other EU country. Eurostat reported on Wednesday that hourly labour costs in the country had gone up by up 5.4% compared to the same period in 2008. Only Bulgaria, Austria and Poland showed higher growth, with 11.3, 6.5 and 5.7%, respectively. Growth of labour costs was negative in the other countries for which there is information available, primarily in Lithuania, where it fell by nearly 11%. Eurostat showed the average growth in the EU at 2.4% and in the Euro-zone at 2.2% year on year.