In 2023, the average hourly labour costs in the whole economy (see methodological note) were estimated to be €31.8 in the EU and €35.6 in the euro area, up compared with €30.2 and €34.0, respectively, in 2022.
These estimates come from data on labour cost levels published by Eurostat today. This article presents only a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.
Lowest hourly labour costs in Bulgaria, highest in Luxembourg
The average hourly labour costs mask significant gaps between EU countries, with the lowest hourly labour costs recorded in Bulgaria (€9.3), Romania (€11.0) and Hungary (€12.8) while the highest in Luxembourg (€53.9), Denmark (€48.1) and Belgium (€47.1).
Hourly labour costs in industry were €32.2 in the EU and €38.0 in the euro area. In construction, they were €28.5 and €31.9, respectively. In services, hourly labour costs varied between €31.8 in the EU and €34.8 in the euro area. In the mainly non-business economy (excluding public administration), they were €32.4 and €35.7, respectively.
The two main components of labour costs are wages and 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 24.7% in the EU and 25.5% in the euro area. The lowest shares of non-wage costs were recorded in Malta (1.4%), Romania (5.0%) and Lithuania (5.4%) and the highest in Sweden (32.2%) and France (31.9%).
Source dataset: lc_lci_lev
Hourly labour costs increased by 5.3% in the EU between 2022 and 2023
In 2023 compared with 2022, hourly labour costs at the whole economy level expressed in € rose by 5.3% in the EU and by 4.8% in the euro area.
Within the euro area, hourly labour costs increased in all countries. The largest increases were recorded in Croatia (+14.2%), Lithuania (+12.4%) and Estonia (+11.7%).
For EU countries outside the euro area, the hourly labour costs expressed in national currency increased in 2023 in all countries, with the largest increases recorded in Hungary (+17.0%), Romania (+16.5%), Bulgaria (+14.0%) and Poland (+12.4%). They increased the least in Denmark (+2.7%).