The statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat) confirms that inflation in theeuro area stood at the8.5%vs. 8.6% in January as expected in the flash estimate earlier in the month.
Also in February, the annual inflation of theEuropean Union was from 9.9%up from 10% in January, while the rate was 6.2% in February 2022.
Compared with January, annual inflation fell in fifteen Member States, remained stable in two and rose in ten.
In Italy The price increase was more than a point above the eurozone average 9.8%.
The lowest rates were recorded in Luxembourg (4.8%), Belgium (5.4%) and Spain (6.0%), the highest in Hungary (25.8%), Latvia (20.1%) and the Czech Republic (18.4%).
Last month, the largest contributor to the euro zone’s annual inflation rate came from Groceries, alcohol And tobacco (+3.10%) followed by Services (+2.02%), Industrial goods without energy (+1.74%) Ed Performance (+1.64%).
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the hourly labor costs compared to the same quarter of the previous year, it rose by 5.7% in the euro zone and by 5.8% in the EU. Hourly wages increased by 5.1% in the euro zone, while non-wage labor costs increased by 7.7%. In the EU, hourly wages increased by 5.4% and non-wage labor costs by 7.2%.