The average hourly labour costs in the European Union reached €23.1 in 2011. In the 17 euro area countries, it was € 27.6. Significant differences were, however, observed between the EU member countries - while the average hourly labour costs in Belgium reached €39.3, Bulgaria is on the end of the scale with €3.5 euro per hour. These are results from the actual data of the European Statistical Office (Eurostat).
The highest hourly labour costs are in Belgium (€39.3), Sweden (€39.1), Denmark (€38.6), France (€34.2), Luxembourg (€33.7), the Netherlands (€31.1) and Germany (€30.1). The lowest hourly labour costs are in Bulgaria (€3.5), Romania (€4.2), Lithuania (€5.5) and Latvia (€5.9). The Czech Republic has the ninth lowest labor costs in the EU (€10.5).
The statistics reflect the hourly labour costs in EU companies with more than ten employees. The costs include expenditures for salaries as well as other compensation components such as social insurance paid by employers.
Tables and charts showing the development of hourly labour costs in the EU can be found in an Eurostat news release.
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