Hourly labour cost by country, 2024
Employer labour costs per hour worked: compensation of employees plus taxes minus subsidies, in nominal euro. Covers industry, construction and services except public administration and defence.
30 places ranked for 2024. Highest: Luxembourg (€54.9 per hour). Lowest: Bulgaria (€10.6 per hour). The median is €23.3 per hour.
Highest 10
- 1. Luxembourg €54.9 per hour
- 2. Norway €53.7 per hour
- 3. Iceland €53.2 per hourp (provisional)
- 4. Denmark €50.2 per hour
- 5. Belgium €48.2 per hour
- 6. Netherlands €45.2 per hour
- 7. Austria €44.3 per hourp (provisional)
- 8. Germany €43.5 per hour
- 9. France €43.4 per hour
- 10. Ireland €42.5 per hour
Lowest 10
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Source: Eurostat.
In short
- Among the 30 countries with a value for 2024, the highest is Luxembourg (€54.9 per hour) and the lowest Bulgaria (€10.6 per hour).
- Half of the countries are above €23.3 per hour and half below.
- The figure for the European Union in 2024 was €33.5 per hour.
Full ranking
| # | Country | Value | Period | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luxembourg | €54.9 per hour | 2024 | |
| 2 | Norway | €53.7 per hour | 2024 | |
| 3 | Iceland | €53.2 per hourp (provisional) | 2024 | |
| 4 | Denmark | €50.2 per hour | 2024 | |
| 5 | Belgium | €48.2 per hour | 2024 | |
| 6 | Netherlands | €45.2 per hour | 2024 | |
| 7 | Austria | €44.3 per hourp (provisional) | 2024 | |
| 8 | Germany | €43.5 per hour | 2024 | |
| 9 | France | €43.4 per hour | 2024 | |
| 10 | Ireland | €42.5 per hour | 2024 | |
| 11 | Sweden | €40.2 per hour | 2024 | |
| 12 | Finland | €37.7 per hourp (provisional) | 2024 | |
| 13 | Italy | €31.0 per hour | 2024 | |
| 14 | Slovenia | €27.1 per hour | 2024 | |
| 15 | Spain | €25.5 per hour | 2024 | |
| 16 | Cyprus | €21.0 per hour | 2024 | |
| 17 | Estonia | €19.6 per hour | 2024 | |
| 18 | Malta | €19.1 per hour | 2024 | |
| 19 | Slovakia | €18.5 per hour | 2024 | |
| 20 | Portugal | €18.2 per hour | 2024 | |
| 21 | Czechia | €18.1 per hour | 2024 | |
| 22 | Poland | €17.3 per hour | 2024 | |
| 23 | Greece | €16.8 per hour | 2024 | |
| 24 | Croatia | €16.5 per hour | 2024 | |
| 25 | Lithuania | €16.3 per hour | 2024 | |
| 26 | Latvia | €15.1 per hour | 2024 | |
| 27 | Hungary | €14.0 per hour | 2024 | |
| 28 | Romania | €12.4 per hour | 2024 | |
| 29 | Serbia | €11.4 per hour | 2024 | |
| 30 | Bulgaria | €10.6 per hour | 2024 |
Places are ordered from the highest to the lowest value. Group medians on this site are the middle value of the members with data for the same year; they are not official aggregates.
How this ranking works
Every country is ranked on its value for 2024, the latest period that most countries have, so all values are for the same point in time. Countries without a value for 2024 are left out. Groups and aggregates such as the European Union are not ranked. Values are as published by Eurostat; the ranking is a plain ordering from the highest to the lowest value and says nothing about whether a high value is good or bad.
Earlier years: use the year selector above. Methodology · Coverage and freshness