Average hourly labour cost per employee - Discontinued by country
Data on labour cost is presented, whenever possible, in nominal terms and on the basis of the mean hourly labour cost per employee. Labour cost is the cost incurred by the employer in the employment of labour in a specified reference period. It comprises remuneration for work performed, payments in respect of time...
What the numbers show
Average hourly labour cost per employee - Discontinued is currently reported for 50 countries. The highest value is 390,264 in Colombia; the lowest is 3.44 in Ecuador.
The median across all reporting countries is 45.48, and the mean is 10,651.
Over the past decade 43 countries rose and 4 fell. The largest increase was in Moldova (up 232.1%), and the largest decrease in Belarus (down 100.0%).
Average hourly labour cost per employee - Discontinued: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombia | 390,264 | 2021 | — | rising |
| 2 | South Africa | 91,601 | 2024 | up 49.3% | rising |
| 3 | Moldova | 17,383 | 2024 | up 232.1% | volatile |
| 4 | Iceland | 8,573 | 2025 | up 125.6% | rising |
| 5 | Chile | 6,745 | 2022 | up 56.4% | rising |
| 6 | Hungary | 6,035 | 2025 | up 147.1% | volatile |
| 7 | Costa Rica | 2,705 | 2018 | up 40.1% | rising |
| 8 | Kazakhstan | 2,452 | 2022 | up 210.5% | volatile |
| 9 | Georgia | 1,574 | 2022 | up 119.1% | rising |
| 10 | Armenia | 1,377 | 2018 | down 99.0% | volatile |
| 11 | Norway | 658.4 | 2025 | up 43.8% | rising |
| 12 | Czechia | 488.5 | 2025 | up 75.9% | volatile |
| 13 | Sweden | 477.2 | 2025 | up 33.8% | volatile |
| 14 | Denmark | 385.5 | 2025 | up 25.2% | volatile |
| 15 | Russia | 340 | 2021 | down 98.8% | volatile |
| 16 | North Macedonia | 292 | 2022 | up 36.0% | rising |
| 17 | Israel | 121.47 | 2024 | up 46.3% | rising |
| 18 | Poland | 80.9 | 2025 | up 112.9% | volatile |
| 19 | Romania | 68.5 | 2025 | up 185.4% | volatile |
| 20 | Switzerland | 63.62 | 2020 | up 13.6% | rising |
| 21 | Luxembourg | 56.8 | 2025 | up 46.8% | rising |
| 22 | Belgium | 48.2 | 2024 | up 26.8% | rising |
| 23 | Netherlands | 47.9 | 2025 | up 44.3% | rising |
| 24 | Austria | 46.3 | 2025 | up 42.5% | rising |
| 25 | Canada | 45.95 | 2024 | up 35.7% | rising |
| 26 | Germany | 45 | 2025 | up 37.2% | rising |
| 27 | United States | 44.67 | 2024 | up 31.2% | rising |
| 28 | France | 44.3 | 2025 | up 28.0% | rising |
| 29 | Ireland | 44.2 | 2025 | up 44.4% | rising |
| 30 | New Zealand | 40.9 | 2023 | up 42.1% | rising |
| 31 | Finland | 39.4 | 2025 | up 16.9% | rising |
| 32 | Italy | 32 | 2025 | up 15.9% | volatile |
| 33 | Slovenia | 29.7 | 2025 | up 76.8% | rising |
| 34 | Spain | 26.4 | 2025 | up 24.5% | rising |
| 35 | United Kingdom | 22.9 | 2016 | up 0.4% | falling |
| 36 | Cyprus | 21.7 | 2025 | up 40.9% | rising |
| 37 | Estonia | 21.1 | 2025 | up 95.4% | volatile |
| 38 | Belarus | 20.9 | 2024 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 39 | Slovakia | 19.8 | 2025 | up 94.1% | volatile |
| 40 | Portugal | 19.4 | 2025 | up 42.6% | rising |
| 41 | Malta | 19 | 2025 | up 33.8% | rising |
| 42 | Croatia | 18.4 | 2025 | up 93.7% | volatile |
| 43 | Greece | 18.2 | 2025 | up 19.7% | rising |
| 44 | Lithuania | 17.8 | 2025 | up 140.5% | volatile |
| 45 | Latvia | 16.3 | 2025 | up 111.7% | volatile |
| 46 | Bulgaria | 12 | 2025 | up 166.7% | volatile |
| 47 | Mongolia | 9.2 | 2024 | — | rising |
| 48 | Peru | 8.75 | 2024 | down 19.9% | falling |
| 49 | Azerbaijan | 7.64 | 2023 | up 123.4% | rising |
| 50 | Ecuador | 3.44 | 2015 | — | falling |
About this data
Data on labour cost is presented, whenever possible, in nominal terms and on the basis of the mean hourly labour cost per employee. Labour cost is the cost incurred by the employer in the employment of labour in a specified reference period. It comprises remuneration for work performed, payments in respect of time paid for but not worked, bonuses and gratuities, the cost of food, drink and other payments in kind, cost of workers' housing borne by employers, employers' social security expenditures, cost to the employer for vocational training, welfare services and miscellaneous items, such as transport of workers, work clothes and recruitment, together with taxes regarded as labour cost. For more information, refer to the Prices, Costs, and Currency Conversions (PRICES) database description.