Average hourly labour costs across the EU rose by 4.1% to €34.9 in 2025, with national rates ranging from €12.0 in Bulgaria to €56.8 in Luxembourg.
The EU-wide figure was up from €33.5 in 2024, while the euro area average increased to €38.2 from €36.8, Eurostat informed on Tuesday.
Hourly labour costs varied widely between countries, with the lowest levels recorded in Bulgaria (€12.0), Romania (€13.6) and Hungary (€15.2), and the highest in Luxembourg (€56.8), Denmark (€51.7) and the Netherlands (€47.9).
Labour costs include wages and salaries as well as non-wage costs such as employers’ social contributions — payments linked to social security systems, Eurostat said.
Non-wage costs made up about a quarter of labour costs
Non-wage costs accounted for 24.8% of total labour costs across the EU and 25.6% in the euro area, according to the figures.
Romania (4.8%), Lithuania (5.5%) and Malta (5.8%) recorded the lowest shares of non-wage costs, while the highest were in France (32.3%), Sweden (31.7%) and Slovakia (28.6%).
Overall hourly labour costs rose by 4.1% in the EU in 2025 compared with 2024, and by 3.8% in the euro area.
Within the euro area, labour costs increased in every country except Malta, where they fell by 0.5%, while the largest rises were recorded in Bulgaria (13.1%) and Croatia (11.6%).
