SOFIA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The total hourly labor cost in Bulgaria rose by 12.2 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2017, preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) showed on Tuesday.

The total hourly labor cost grew by 11.7 percent in industry, 11.8 percent in services and 11.9 percent in construction, the NSI said.

The breakdown by economic activities showed that the highest annual growths in total labor costs were recorded in education (20.2 percent), other service activities (19.1 percent) and administrative and support service activities (15.0 percent).

The lowest increases were observed in arts, entertainment and recreation by 1.1 percent, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply by 3.7 percent and financial and insurance activities by 6.9 percent, the NSI said.

Wages and salaries costs per hour grew by 12.0 percent in comparison with a year earlier, while the other (non-wage) costs rose by 13.2 percent.

According to the last available annual data, the total labor cost per hour in 2016 in Bulgaria was 8.10 Bulgarian Lev (some 5.10 U.S. dollars), and ranged from 4.65 Lev (2.9 U.S. dollars) in accommodation and food service activities to 17.81 Lev (11.2 U.S. dollars) in information and communication.