Labour costs in Belgium are the third highest in the EU
According to figures published on Wednesday by the European statistics bureau Eurostat the average hourly cost of labour in Belgium in 2023 was 47.1 euro. This makes Belgium the third most expensive country in the European Union for employers.
The Eurostat figures how that in 2023 that the average hourly labour cost in the EU as a whole was 31.8 euro. If only the countries that are part of the Eurozone are taken into account, the average hourly labour cost rises to 35.6 euro. This is an increase on 2022 when the average hourly labour cost in the was 30.2 euro/hour in the EU as a whole and 34 euro/hour in the Eurozone.
There are big differences between the EU member states. In Bulgaria it costs employers an average of 9.3 euro/hour to employ someone. In Romania this is 11 euro/hour and in Hungary this is 12.8 euro/hour.
The most expensive country for employers is the Luxembourg where it costs an average of 53.9 euro/hour to employ someone. Denmark (48.1 euro/hour) is the second most expensive country with regard to labour costs and Belgium (47.1 euro) is third.
Labour costs are mainly made up of two components: wages and non-wage costs, such as employers' social security contributions. Non-wage costs accounted for 24.7% of labour costs in the EU as a whole and 25.5% in the Eurozone. Non-wage costs accounted for the lowest share in Malta (1.4%), Romania (5%) and Lithuania (5.4%). Sweden (32.2%) and France (31.9%) had the highest proportion of non-wage costs in their labour costs.