Eurostat: Romania And Bulgaria See Lowest Hourly Labor Costs In EU In 2016

In 2016, average hourly labor costs in the whole economy (excluding agriculture and public administration) were estimated to be EUR25.4 in the European Union and EUR29.8 in the euro area.

Other states which posted high hourly labor costs are France (EUR35.6) and Sweden (EUR38), while Hungary (EUR8.3) and Lithuania (EUR7.3) were among the states with the lowest hourly labor costs.

Within the euro area, the largest increases were recorded in Lithuania (7.5%), Latvia (6.4%) and Estonia (5.6%), while Italy was the only state which registered a decrease (-0.8%).

For member states outside the euro area, the largest rises in hourly labor costs were registered in Romania (12.7%) and Bulgaria (7.8%), and the smallest increases in the United Kingdom (1.5%) and Denmark (1.9%).