Brussels, 21/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - Total hourly labour costs in the Euro area rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in nominal terms in the first quarter of 2006, up from 2.1% in the previous quarter. In the EU25 the annual rise was 2.4% in the first quarter of 2006, down from 2.5% in the previous quarter. In the Euro area, wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 2.5% in the first quarter of 2006, and in the EU25 by 2.7%. Non-wage costs grew by 1.2% and 1.6% respectively. A breakdown by economic activity shows that in the Euro area hourly labour costs rose at an annual rate of 2.5% in industry, 2.1% in construction and 2.0% in services in the first quarter of 2006. In the EU25, labour costs grew by 2.4% in industry and by 2.3% in both construction and services. The smallest annual increases were recorded in the Netherlands (0.1%), Sweden (0.4%), Germany (0.6%) and Malta (0.7%) while the highest annual rises were found in Latvia (19.0%), Estonia (14.9%), Lithuania (13.2%) and Slovakia (7.5%).