(1)

An occupied post (1) is a remunerated position within a resident enterprise or a resident local unit to which an employee has been assigned for a defined period or until further notice.

(2)

A vacant post is a remunerated position within a resident enterprise or a resident local unit:

—

for the mandatory transmission of job vacancy statistics in NACE section O, corresponding to the economic activity of temporary employment agencies,

—

on an optional basis, according to the NACE section of the resident enterprise or resident local unit where the employee performs the professional activity.

(1)

Total labour costs are the total costs incurred by the employer in the employment of labour. They are the sum of wages and salaries including bonuses, employers’ social contributions and taxes related to employment, regarded as labour costs paid by the employer minus employment-related subsidies received by the employer.

(2)

Hours worked cover the total number of hours actually worked by all employees, whether they are full-time employees, part-time employees, apprentices, paid trainees or interns. Hours actually worked are defined as the sum of all periods spent on direct and ancillary activities to produce goods and services during the reference quarter. Employees are defined in Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1526.

Hours actually worked include:

Hours actually worked exclude:

(3)

Wages and salaries include direct remuneration, bonuses and pay for shift work, allowances, fees, commissions and remuneration in kind. They also include wages and salaries paid to outworkers, apprentices, trainees and interns. However, pay for outworkers paid on piecework rates is excluded [ESA 2010, paragraph 4.07e]. Contrary to national accounts, tips and gratuities are excluded as they are not paid by the employers and are therefore not recorded as labour costs in their accounts.

Wages and salaries are recorded in the period during which the work is done. However, ad hoc bonuses or other exceptional payments, thirteenth salary, etc. are recorded when they are due to be paid. The time of recording of stock options is spread over the period between the grant date and vesting date. If the data are inadequate, the value of the option is recorded at the vesting date.

(4)

Labour costs other than wages and salaries is the sum of the following components: employers’ social contributions and taxes on labour paid by the employer, minus labour subsidies received by the employer.

(5)

Employers’ social contributions is an amount equal to the value of the social contributions payable by employers to social security schemes or other employment-related social insurance schemes in order to secure for their employees the entitlement to social benefits. Employers’ social contributions may be either actual or imputed.

They cover the following risks and needs:

They include employers’ social contributions payable to apprentices.

(6)

Taxes on labour paid by the employer cover all taxes based on the total wage and salary bill or on employment. These taxes are considered as labour costs. Penalty taxes to be paid in some countries by employers for employing too few persons with a disability and similar taxes or fees are also included.

This category of labour costs does not include social contributions payable by the employer or the amounts withheld by the employer to pay social contributions or income taxes payable by the employee.

(7)

Labour subsidies received by the employer are all amounts received in the form of public subsidies intended to refund part or all of the cost of direct remuneration, but not intended to cover social security or vocational training costs. They do not include refunds paid to the employer by social security institutions or supplementary insurance funds. They include labour subsidies that refund the cost of remunerating apprentices as well as paid trainees and interns.

(8)

The quarterly index of total labour costs per hour worked (the labour cost index or LCI) is defined as the Laspeyres index of quarterly labour costs per hour worked, chain linked annually and based upon a fixed structure of economic activities at the section level of the NACE classification. The formula to be used for the calculation of the LCI is specified in Section 2.1 ‘Rules for calculations’.

(9)

The quarterly index of wages and salaries per hour worked is defined as the Laspeyres index of quarterly wages and salaries per hour worked, chain linked annually and based upon a fixed structure of economic activities at the section level of the NACE classification.

(10)

The quarterly index of labour costs other than wages and salaries per hour worked is defined as the Laspeyres index of quarterly labour costs other than wages and salaries per hour worked, chain linked annually and based upon a fixed structure of economic activities at the section level of the NACE classification.

(11)

The quarterly index of total labour costs (TCI) (optional) is defined as the simple ratio between the total labour costs recorded in the reference quarter and one fourth of those recorded in the previous calendar year, chain linked annually back to the base year. The formula to be used for the calculation of the TCI is specified in Section 2.1 ‘Rules for calculations’.

(12)

The quarterly index of hours worked (HWI) (optional) is defined as the Paasche index of quarterly hours worked, chain linked annually and based upon a moving structure of economic activities at the section level of the NACE classification. The formula to be used for the calculation of the HWI is specified in Section 2.1 ‘Rules for calculations’

The quarterly labour cost index, the quarterly index of total labour costs and the quarterly index of hours worked shall be expressed in a base year for which the annual indices, calculated as the simple average of the four quarterly indices for that year, are equal to 100 for the unadjusted, calendar adjusted, and calendar and seasonally adjusted indices.

The base year shall change every four years. Data shall be transmitted in the new base year for reference periods starting from the first quarter of the year following the publication of the latest data of the topic ‘structure of labour costs’ by Eurostat. The first base year shall be 2024.

(1)

Gender pay gap is the difference in average gross hourly earnings of male and female employees expressed as a percentage of the average gross hourly earnings of the male employees.

(2)

Gross earnings, number of hours paid, form of economic and financial control (public/private), and contractual working time (full-time/part-time employee) are defined in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1526.

(3)

Gross hourly earnings are the gross monthly earnings divided by the monthly number of hours paid.

(1)

The basic Laspeyres formula to be used in the calculation of the LCI for quarter t in year j for single NACE sections, for NACE aggregates and for the whole economy with annual base period k is defined as:

Where:

(2)

(3)

The annual link for year l to year l + 1, where 0 ≤ l < l + 1 < j is defined by:

(4)

The Laspeyres chain index formula for quarter t in year j with base year k = 0 and with m the interval required to process and apply the necessary annual weights, where 1 ≤ m ≤ 2, is defined as:

LCItj(0) = 100 × (L''0,1) × (L''1,2) ×….. × (L''j-m-1,j-m ) × LCItj(j-m)

(1)

The formula to be used in the calculation of the total labour costs (TCI) for quarter t in year j, for NACE sections, for NACE aggregates and for the whole economy with reference year k is defined as:

where:

(2)

The chain index formula for quarter t in year j with base year k = 0 is defined as:

(1)

The basic Paasche formula to be used for the calculation of chain linked indices of hours worked (HWI) for quarter t in year j, for NACE sections, for NACE aggregates and for the whole economy with reference year k is defined as:

where:

(2)

The weights to be used for the calculation of the index are defined as:

(3)

The annual link for year l to year l + 1, where 0 ≤ l < l + 1 < j is defined by:

(4)

The Paasche chain index formula for quarter t in year j with base year k = 0 and with m the interval required to process and apply the necessary annual weights, where 1 ≤ m ≤ 2, is defined as:

HWItj(0) = 100 × (L'0,1) × (L'1,2) ×….. × (L'j-m-1,j-m ) × HWItj(j-m)

GPGK

=

the gender pay gap for calendar year K,

GHEi

=

the gross hourly earnings of male employee i, in a representative month within calendar year K or its estimate if no structure of earnings data are available,

GHEj

=

the gross hourly earnings, of female employee j, in a representative month within calendar year K or its estimate if no structure of earnings data are available,

M

=

the number of male employees,

W

=

the number of female employees.