Definition: Total labour costs

Category: Labour market

These are taken to mean the total expenditure borne by employers in order to employ workers, a concept which has been adopted in the Community framework and complies broadly with the international definition of the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (Geneva, 1966).  Labour costs include:
(a) compensation of employees, with wages and salaries in cash and in kind;
(b) employers' social contributions; 
(c) vocational training costs; 
(d) other expenditures;
(e) taxes relating to employment regarded as labour costs, less any subsidies received.