News

& Events

Hourly labour costs: from €5.4 to €43.5 across the EU Member States

Apr 11, 2019 | News

(11 April 2019) – In the EU in 2018, the lowest hourly labour costs were recorded in Bulgaria and Romania, and the highest in Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium.

Euros
© CC0 Public Domain

In 2018, average hourly labour costs in the whole economy (excluding agriculture and public administration) were estimated to be €27.4 in the European Union and €30.6 in the euro area.

However, the average masks significant gaps between EU Member States, with the lowest hourly labour costs recorded in Bulgaria (€5.4), Romania (€6.9), Lithuania (€9.0), Hungary (€9.2) and Latvia (€9.3), and the highest in Denmark (€43.5), Luxembourg (€40.6), Belgium (€39.7), Sweden (€36.6), the Netherlands (€35.9) and France (€35.8).

Labour costs consist of wages & salaries and non-wage costs (e.g. employers’ social contributions). The share of non-wage costs in total labour costs for the whole economy was 23.7% in the EU and 25.6% in the euro area. It ranged from 6.1% in Malta to 32.6% in France.

More information