Analyzing Labor Costs in The Transport and Storage Sector in European Countries Through Trend and Cluster Analysis:2007-2022

Abstract

Trends in the transport and storage industry's labor markets in Europe have significantly impacted changes in labor costs. Technological advancements, increased privatization and deregulation, and changes in global capital flows are among the key reasons that have resulted in significant changes in labor costs in the logistics sector during the last few decades, especially in Europe. The amount of remuneration for logistics personnel and its pace of change over time are essential aspects influencing not just capital investment choices but also country competitiveness. The clusters of countries with similar wage increases over time are also impacted by their economic, social, and ecological problems to a similar extent. The existence of probable trends in labor costs in transport and storage on a country level, as well as cluster analysis over the countries where the trend is found, will aid in revealing significant similarities and contrasts concerning the sector and the countries involved in the research. The Labor Cost Index (LCI), according to NACE Rev. 2 Activity-nominal value, quarterly data released by Eurostat was utilized for this research. Sixty-four quarterly periods have been covered between the first quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2022. The research was based on data collected from 23 different European countries. The Mann-Kendall trend test and Sen's slope test were used for trend analysis, and the K-means clustering algorithm was used for cluster analysis.