Bankinter | Unit labour costs in Q4 2025 (final figure) rose by 4.4%, exceeding the expected 3.6% versus the preliminary 2.8% and compared with the previous drop of 1.8%. Productivity moderated to 1.8%, in line with expectations, from the preliminary 2.8% and 5.2% in Q3 2025.
Analysis team’s view: cost pressures in the labour market increased in Q4 2025. It should be noted that Q4 2025 GDP (during which the government was shut down for almost a month and a half) was revised downwards to 0.7% annualised quarter-on-quarter, from a preliminary 1.4%, which may partly explain the decline in productivity (year-on-year, it fell to 2.0% from a preliminary 2.2%).
