OREANDA-NEWS. In 2015, average hourly labour costs in the whole economy (excluding agriculture and public administration) were estimated to be €25.0 in the European Union (EU) and €29.5 in the euro area. However, this average masks significant gaps between EU Member States, with the lowest hourly labour costs recorded in Bulgaria (€4.1), Romania (€5.0), Lithuania (€6.8), Latvia (€7.1) and Hungary (€7.5), and the highest in Denmark (€41.3), Belgium (€39.1), Sweden (€37.4), Luxembourg (€36.2) and France (€35.1).

In industry, labour costs per hour were €25.9 in the EU and €32.3 in the euro area, in services €24.9 and €28.6 respectively and in construction €22.4 and €25.8. In the mainly non-business economy (excluding public administration), labour costs per hour were €25.1 in the EU and €29.4 in the euro area in 2015.

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 24.0% in the EU and 26.0% in the euro area, ranging from 6.6% in Malta to 33.2% in France.

These estimates for 2015 come from an article issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Data cover enterprises with 10 or more employees and are based on the Labour Cost Survey data for 2012, which are extrapolated through the Labour Cost Index.

Decreases in hourly labour costs in Cyprus and Italy
Between 2014 and 2015, hourly labour costs in the whole economy expressed in € rose by 2.0% in the EU and by 1.5% in the euro area.

Within the euro area, the largest increases were recorded in Latvia (+7.3%), Lithuania (+5.6%) and Estonia (+5.3%). Decreases were observed in Cyprus (-1.0%) and Italy (-0.5%). For Member States outside the euro area in 2015, and expressed in national currency, the largest increases in hourly labour costs in the whole economy between 2014 and 2015 were registered in Romania (+8.3%) and Bulgaria (+7.0%), and the smallest in Denmark and Croatia (both +1.7%). When comparing labour cost estimates in € over time, it should be noted that data for those Member States outside the euro area are influenced by exchange rate movements.