Hourly labor force costs in the European Union in 2014 ranged between 3.8 euro in Bulgaria, 4.6 euros in Romania, and 40.3 euro in Denmark, while the EU average was 24.6 euros, and in the Eurozone of 29.2 euros, according to data released Monday by Eurostat.
However, among countries that are not members of the Eurozone, Romania is the leader when it comes to increasing hourly labor costs.
According to sectors of activity, in the European Union, the highest hourly labor costs are in the industry, 25.5 euros in the EU, followed by services (24.3 euros) and constructions (22 euros). In Romania, hourly labor costs are higher in services (5.1 euros), industry (4.7 euros) and construction (3.4 euros).
The labor costs cover wages and other expenses, such as social contributions. At EU level, the cost of these expenses amounted to 24.4 percent and in Romania to 22.9%.