In the European Union, the hourly cost of labour increased by 1.8% on average during this period, according to Eurostat data. In Latvia and Bulgaria, staff costs rose by 7.4%.

Wages will continue to grow in Romania, given the big gap between the salary level in the country and other European states, said Sorina Donisa, country manager of the recruiting company APT.

In other EU countries, the staff costs dropped in the third quarter of the year. In Portugal, labour costs went down by 2.8% whereas these decreased by 1.5% in Slovenia. (source: Romania-insider.com)