Euro Area Wage Growth Slows in Q2

Wages and salaries in the euro area rose 3.0% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, slowing from a 3.4% increase in the previous three months. Wage growth eased across both industry and services, to 2.8% from 3.4% and 2.9% from 3.3%, respectively, while construction wage growth was unchanged at 4.1%. Among the bloc’s largest economies, wage growth slowed in Germany (2.9% vs 3.3%), Spain (4.3% vs 5.2%), Italy (2.1% vs 2.7%) and the Netherlands (3.1% vs 3.9%). France was the exception, with wage growth picking up to 2.1% from 1.9%.

Wages and salaries in the Euro Area increased 3.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, following a 3.1% rise in the last three months of 2025. The largest annual wage gains were seen in mining and quarrying (5.7% vs -1.5%), real estate (4.8% vs 4.5%), construction (44% vs 3.8%), and education (4.4% vs 4.5%). Wages in manufacturing also accelerated (3.6% vs 2.6%). Among the bloc's largest economies, wages rose faster in Germany (3.4% vs 2.7%), France (1.8% vs 1.4%), Italy (2.8% vs 2.2%), and Spain (5.1% vs 3.8%) but slowed in Netherlands (3.2% vs 4.5%).

Wages across the Eurozone rose 3.0% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025, the least since Q3 2022, and slowing from 3.7% in the previous quarter. Among the region’s largest economies, wage growth decelerated notably in Germany (3.6% vs. 4.2% in Q2 2025), France (1.3% vs. 1.4%), Italy (2.4% vs. 3.4%), Spain (2.0% vs. 3.4%), and the Netherlands (3.6% vs. 6.3%).