In the second quarter of 2026, labour productivity in the EU increased by 0.9% based on persons and by 0.8% based on hours worked, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the first quarter of 2026, labour productivity had increased by 0.4% based on both persons and hours worked compared with the same quarter of the previous year.
Slovenia recorded the largest increase in labour productivity based on persons, with a 4.5% rise compared with the second quarter of 2025. Denmark followed with a 3.6% increase and Lithuania with 3.5%. Only Ireland (-1.0%), Romania (-0.8%) and Italy (-0.4%) registered declines in labour productivity based on persons.
Slovenia also had the largest increase in labour productivity based on hours worked (+5.8%), followed by Denmark (+3.5%) and Latvia (+3.4%). Labour productivity based on hours worked dropped in 5 EU countries, with the largest declines in Romania (-1.2%), Czechia (-0.8%) and Portugal (-0.5%), while it was stable in Ireland.