What Employers Pay Per Hour in Each EU Country: 2025 Labour Cost Data

If you are comparing job opportunities across EU member states, the hourly cost of employment is one of the clearest signals of where labour markets sit. Eurostat's 2025 estimates show a wide spread - from €12.0 per hour at the low end to €56.8 at the high end.

The EU Range: €12.0 to €56.8 per Hour

In 2025, Eurostat estimated average hourly labour costs in the whole economy at €34.9 for the EU and €38.2 for the euro area. These averages cover 27 EU member states and 21 euro area countries respectively, and they mask large differences at country level.

The lowest hourly labour costs were recorded in Bulgaria (€12.0), Romania (€13.6) and Hungary (€15.2). The highest were in Luxembourg (€56.8), Denmark (€51.7) and the Netherlands (€47.9).

These estimates cover enterprises with 10 or more employees. They are based on the 2020 Labour Cost Survey, extrapolated forward using the Labour Cost Index. Malta's data relies on a 2016 survey pending further analysis, and Belgium's 2025 figures were not released due to unavailability of the required index.

Wages and Non-Wage Costs

Hourly labour costs have two main components: wages and salaries, and non-wage costs such as employers' social contributions. In 2025, non-wage costs accounted for 24.8% of total hourly labour costs in the EU and 25.6% in the euro area.

The total hourly cost an employer carries therefore includes both the wage and these additional non-wage items - a distinction worth keeping in mind when reading salary figures.

Which Markets Are Rising Fastest

Between 2024 and 2025, hourly labour costs in the whole economy rose by 4.1% in the EU and 3.8% in the euro area.

Within the euro area, the largest increases were in Bulgaria (+13.1%), Croatia (+11.6%), Slovenia (+9.3%) and Lithuania (+9.2%). The smallest rises were recorded in France (+2.0%), Italy (+3.2%) and Spain, Cyprus and Luxembourg (all +3.5%). Malta was the only euro area country where hourly labour costs fell (-0.5%).

For EU countries outside the euro area, Eurostat measures changes in national currencies, and exchange rate movements also affect the euro-equivalent figures. The largest national-currency increases were in Romania (+10.6%), Hungary (+8.9%) and Poland (+8.8%), with Denmark recording the smallest rise (+3.0%).

Labour Costs by Sector

Country-level averages vary further by sector. In the EU, hourly labour costs were highest in the mainly non-business economy (excluding public administration) at €35.5, and lowest in construction at €31.5.

In the euro area the spread was wider: industry recorded the highest hourly labour costs at €40.3, while construction again came in lowest at €34.4.

How to Read These Numbers

The figures Eurostat publishes represent the full cost to an employer per hour worked - wages and salaries plus non-wage items such as social contributions. The estimates cover enterprises with 10 or more employees across most economic sectors; agriculture, public administration and households as employers are not included.

For job seekers, these numbers are a country-level benchmark rather than a salary guide. They show where employer costs sit across the EU and how quickly those costs are moving - useful context when weighing roles in different markets. Browse current European vacancies on NewLuxJob to see which roles are open by country.

Source: Eurostat, Hourly labour costs, data extracted 31 March 2026.