(01.11.1999) In the European Union average hourly labour costs in industry in 1996 ranged from 6.1 ECU in Portugal to 26.5 ECU in Germany. Both the USA (17.4) and Japan (19.7) fell below EU-15 average of 20.2 ECU.

Labour costs accounted on average for some two-thirds of production costs of goods and services.

The Eurostat report says labour costs in Belgium, Austria and Sweden were close to Germany's at the top end of the range, with Finland and Luxembourg closest to the EU average. Costs in Ireland were more in line with southern countries - above Portugal and Greece but below Italy and Spain.

Denmark, Sweden and Finland had the most even distribution among the various industrial sectors.

 

Hourly
labour
costs
in ECU

of which
direct
costs
(%)

of which
direct
remune-
ration (%)

of which
indirect
costs
(%)

of which
social
security
(%)

EU-15

20.2

73.7

n/a

26.3

23.6

Euro-zone

21.6

71.2

63.4

28.8

26.1

Austria

24.6

70.4

61.3

29.6

25.3

Belgium

25.8

67.4

55.5

32.6

30.8

Denmark

23.0

92.0

n/a

  8.1

  0.1

Finland

19.7

75.1

63.8

24.9

22.7

France

22.5

66.9

57.2

33.1

29.2

Germany

26.5

74.4

62.7

25.6

23.6

Greece

  9.6

76.0

69.9

24.0

22.9

Ireland

13.8

83.5

73.2

16.5

13.6

Italy (1997)

17.2

66.0

65.5

34.0

31.0

Luxembourg

19.3

84.0

71.8

16.0

14.8

Netherlands

22.6

74.9

64.7

25.1

22.8

Portugal

  6.1

75.3

69.1

24.8

20.8

Spain

14.9

73.6

73.5

26.4

25.0

Sweden (1997)

23.9

67.7

60.7

332.3

29.7

UK

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Source: Eurostat Statistics in Focus, Population and social conditions, no 10/99: "Labour costs 1996: Major disparities between the European Union countries