Brussels, 16/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - Total hourly labour costs in the whole economy of the euro-zone3 grew by 2.2% in nominal terms in the fourth quarter of 2004 compared to the fourth quarter of 2003. In the third quarter of 2004 the increase was 1.8%. In the EU25 the annual rise was 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2004, compared to 2.4% in the previous quarter. Among the Member States for which data are available in the fourth quarter of 2004, the smallest annual rises were recorded in Italy (1.4%), Germany (1.7%), the Netherlands (2.0%), Luxembourg (2.5%), France and Sweden (both 2.6%). The highest increases were observed in Latvia (12.7%), Slovenia (12.3%), Lithuania (6.4%) and Estonia (5.3%). In industry, hourly labour costs rose by 2.5% in the euro-zone and by 2.7% in the EU25. Among the Member States for which data are available, annual changes ranged between +1.8% in Germany and +14.8% in Slovenia.