The hourly labour cost in Cyprus rose to €20.1 in 2023, according to Eurostat, while the average hourly labour cost across the EU was estimated at €31.8 and €35.6 in the Eurozone.
This is compared to €30.2 and €34 respectively in 2022.
In Cyprus, the hourly labour cost was €17.7 in 2021 and €19 in 2022, meaning it increased by €1.3 in one year and €2.4 over two years. In Greece, the hourly labour cost was €15.7 in 2023, among the lowest in the EU, higher only than Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Malta.
The lowest hourly labour cost is in Bulgaria at €9.3, and the highest is in Luxembourg at €53.9. Specifically, hourly wages range from €11 in Romania and €12.8 in Hungary to €48.1 in Denmark and €47.1 in Belgium.
The hourly labour cost in the industry sector was €32.2 in the EU in 2023 and €38.0 in the Eurozone.
In the construction sector, it was €28.5 and €31.9 respectively. In the services sector, the hourly labour cost ranged between €31.8 in the EU and €34.8 in the Eurozone.
In 2023, compared to 2022, the hourly labour cost across the entire economy, expressed in euros, increased by 5.3% in the EU and by 4.8% in the Eurozone. Within the Eurozone, the hourly labour cost increased in all countries.
The largest increases were recorded in Croatia (+14.2%), Lithuania (+12.4%), and Estonia (+11.7%). In Greece, the increase was only 6.8%.
For EU countries outside the Eurozone, the hourly labour cost expressed in national currency increased in 2023 in all countries, with the largest increases recorded in Hungary (+17.0%), Romania (+16.5%), Bulgaria (+14.0%), and Poland (+12.4%).
The two main components of labour cost are wages and non-wage costs (e.g., employer social contributions).
The share of non-wage costs in the total labour cost for the entire economy was 24.7% in the EU and 25.5% in the Eurozone.
The lowest shares of non-wage costs were recorded in Malta (1.4%), Romania (5.0%), and Lithuania (5.4%), while the highest were in Sweden (32.2%) and France (31.9%).Hourly labour cost. hourly labour cost, Eurostat, EU
