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Cyprus Labor Costs Rise 3.8% As Growth Outpaces EU And Euro Area

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 17, 2026

Hourly labor costs in Cyprus rose 3.8% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, faster than the euro area and EU averages, according to Eurostat and the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Labor Costs Rise Faster Than Regional Benchmarks

The 3.8% increase in Cyprus compared with 3.1% in the euro area and 3.2% across the EU. Both wage and non-wage costs contributed to the increase.

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Hourly wages and salaries rose 3.9% from the second quarter of 2025, while non-wage labor costs increased 3.6%, according to Cystat.

Growth Accelerates From The First Quarter

The annual increase also accelerated from 3.4% in the first quarter of 2026 and was slightly above the 3.7% recorded a year earlier.

Wage growth rose from 3.4% in the first quarter, while non-wage costs increased at a faster pace than the 3% recorded during the same period.

Labor Cost Index Continues To Rise

Cyprus’ unadjusted total labor cost index reached 121.87 in the second quarter, up from 119.43 in the previous quarter and 117.38 a year earlier. The index for wages and salaries rose to 122.20, compared with 119.79 in the first quarter and 117.64 in the second quarter of 2025.

The non-wage labor cost index stood at 120.48, up from 117.92 in the first quarter and 116.33 a year earlier. Cystat uses 2020 as the reference year, with an index value of 100.

Seasonally Adjusted Costs Rise 1%

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, total hourly labor costs increased 1% in the second quarter. Wages and salaries also rose 1%, while non-wage costs increased 0.9%.

The quarterly increases were stronger than those recorded in the second quarter of 2025, when total labor costs and wages and salaries each rose 0.6%, while non-wage costs increased 0.5%.

Business Economy Labor Costs Remain Elevated

Eurostat data also showed relatively strong labor-cost growth in Cyprus’ business economy. Annual growth reached 4.3% in the second quarter, compared with 4.4% in the first quarter and 4.1% a year earlier.

Across the euro area, business-economy labor costs increased 3% year on year, down from 3.3% in the first quarter and 4.5% a year earlier. Wage costs rose 3%, while non-wage costs increased 3.2%.

EU business-economy labor costs rose 3.1%, compared with 3.5% in the first quarter and 4.8% in the second quarter of 2025. Wage costs increased 3.1%, while non-wage costs rose 3.2%.

Construction Records Fastest Growth Across Main Sectors

Across the wider economy, hourly labor costs rose 3.1% in the euro area and 3.2% in the EU during the second quarter.

Construction recorded the fastest growth among the three main sectors in both regions. Costs increased 3.9% in euro-area construction, compared with 2.9% in industry and 3% in services, while the EU recorded increases of 3.9%, 3% and 3.1%, respectively.

Wage Growth Varies Across EU Economies

The largest annual increases in hourly wage costs were recorded in Bulgaria at 9.9%, Lithuania at 9.6% and Croatia at 8.9%. Luxembourg and Romania recorded the lowest increases at 1.8%, followed by France and Italy at 2.1%.

For non-wage costs, the largest increases were reported in other service activities at 5.7%, real estate activities at 4.9% and administrative and support services at 4.8%. Mining and quarrying recorded the smallest increase at 0.7%, followed by professional, scientific and technical activities at 1.6% and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply at 1.7%.

Cyprus therefore entered the second half of 2026 with annual labor-cost growth above both regional benchmarks, while wage and non-wage costs continued to increase domestically.

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More Than 1.5 Billion People Faced Dangerous Heat This Summer

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 18, 2026

More than 1.5 billion people were exposed to dangerous levels of heat this summer, according to a global analysis by nonprofit Climate Central.

The study found that Europe experienced the most unusual heat during June-August 2026, with nearly nine in 10 Europeans exposed to at least one month of what researchers classify as “risky heat.”

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Europe Emerged As The World’s Hottest Region

Climate Central defines risky heat as temperatures above 90% of local temperatures recorded between 1991 and 2020 for the same period. Researchers use the threshold to identify temperatures at which health risks begin to increase.

Across the world, people in 203 countries experienced at least 30 days of risky heat. In 54 countries, June-August 2026 was the hottest such period on record, while seven of the 10 countries with the largest temperature anomalies were in Europe.

France recorded the largest national temperature anomaly, at 3.5C above its historical average.

“Whether it’s nine in 10 Europeans enduring risky heat, hundreds of millions impacted across Asia and Africa, or relentless record-breaking temperatures in North America, human-driven warming is pushing communities beyond safe physical limits,” said Kristina Dahl of Climate Central.

She said the summer’s heat should be viewed in terms of its immediate effects on health systems, labor productivity, infrastructure and household finances.

Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), who was not involved in the study, said the findings show the rising costs of climate change linked to fossil fuel use.

Clean Energy Faces Rising Demand

Europe’s extreme summer was part of a broader trend that scientists say would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change. Earlier this month, the United Nations said limiting warming to 1.5C is no longer achievable under current conditions.

The latest United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) outlook projects 1.8C of warming in the best-case scenario and more than 2C in less favorable cases. UNEP now describes the likely pathway as “overshoot, peak and decline.”

Renewable energy is central to limiting that overshoot. Renewables generated almost 34% of global electricity in 2025, but UNEP says the share would need to reach 60%-70% by 2030 under a limited-overshoot pathway.

In the European Union, wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels for the first time last year. SolarPower Europe estimates that solar generation has saved the bloc €33.8 billion in avoided gas imports since the start of the war on Iran.

Power Grids Struggle With Growing Demand

Investment in clean energy has reached about $1.9 trillion annually, but renewable generation is meeting only around 40% of the increase in electricity demand. Air conditioning and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence are contributing to that growth.

According to the International Energy Agency, data center electricity use increased 17% in 2025, reaching roughly 1.5%-2% of global electricity demand. That figure is expected to double by 2030.

Europe’s aging power grids are also struggling to integrate growing amounts of renewable generation, leaving some solar and wind capacity unused. Battery storage can help reduce those bottlenecks, but investment has not kept pace with the scale of the challenge.

This summer’s heat is adding pressure on governments, businesses and infrastructure systems to adapt to higher temperatures while expanding low-carbon energy capacity.