Eurostat News Release: Labour costs in the EU – Hourly labour costs ranged from €3.8 to €40.3 across the EU Member States in 2014, Lowest in Bulgaria, highest in Denmark, 30 Μαρτίου 2015.
In 2014, average hourly labour costs in the whole economy (excluding agriculture and public administration) were estimated to be €24.6 in the European Union (EU) and €29.2 in the euro area (EA18). However, this average masks significant gaps between EU Member States, with the lowest hourly labour costs recorded in Bulgaria (€3.8), Romania (€4.6), Lithuania (€6.5) and Latvia (€6.6) and the highest in Denmark (€40.3), Belgium (€39.1), Sweden (€37.4) and Luxembourg (€35.9).
Within the business economy, labour costs per hour were highest in industry (€25.5 in the EU and €32.0 in the euro area), followed by services (€24.3 and €28.2 respectively) and construction (€22.0 and €25.8). In the mainly non-business economy (excluding public administration), labour costs per hour were €24.7 in the EU and €29.1 in the euro area in 2014.
Labour costs are made up of wages & salaries and non-wage costs such as employers’ social contributions. The share of non-wage costs in the whole economy was 24.4% in the EU and 26.1% in the euro area, with the lowest in Malta (6.9%) and Denmark (13.1%) and the highest in Sweden (31.6%) and France (33.1%).
These estimates for 2014 come from a publication issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Data cover enterprises with 10 or more employees and are based on the 2012 Labour Cost Survey and the Labour Cost Index.