In 2014, average hourly labour costs in the whole economy (excluding agriculture and public administration) were estimated to be €24.6 across the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU) and €29.2 in the Eurozone; according to Eurostat, the statistical body of the EU.

However, this average masks significant gaps between Member States, with the lowest hourly labour costs recorded in Bulgaria (€3.80), Romania (€4.60), Lithuania (€6.50), and Latvia (€6.60); and the highest in Denmark (€40.30), Belgium (€39.10), Sweden (€37.40), and Luxembourg (€35.90).

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 24.4% in the EU and 26.1% in the Eurozone, with the lowest in Malta (6.9%) and Denmark (13.1%) and the highest in Sweden (31.6%) and France (33.1%).

Within the business economy, labour costs per hour were highest in the industrial segment (€25.50 in the EU and €32.00 in the Eurozone), followed by services (€24.30 and €28.20, respectively), and construction (€22.00 and €25.80).

Between 2013 and 2014, hourly labour costs in the whole economy expressed in euros rose by 1.4% in the EU and by 1.1% in the euro area.

Within the Eurozone, the largest hourly labour costs increases were recorded in Estonia (+6.6%), Latvia (+6.0%) and Slovakia (+5.2%). Decreases were observed in Cyprus (-2.8%), Portugal (-0.8%) and Ireland (-0.2%).

For Member States outside the Eurozone in 2014, and expressed in national currency, the largest increases in hourly labour costs in the whole economy between 2013 and 2014 were registered in Romania (+6.0%), Lithuania and Poland (both +3.5%) and Hungary (+3.3%), and the smallest in Denmark (+0.9%) and the United Kingdom (+1.3%). The only country to report a decrease in labour costs out with the Eurozone was Croatia with 0.8%.