Romania's labor costs up 15 pct in 2017 to EUR 6.3/h, the fastest growth in EU

Romania’s labor costs up 15 pct in 2017 to EUR 6.3/h, the fastest growth in EU

Romania recorded last year the fastest growth of the hourly labor costs among the 28 European Union member states, of 15 percent up to EUR 6.3, but still ranks second-lowest in terms of wages, after Bulgaria, according to Eurostat data released on Monday.

Romania’s hourly labor costs rose from EUR 4.9 in 2015 to EUR 5.5 in 2016 and EUR 6.3 in 2017. Compared with 2004, when they amounted EUR 1.9, Romania’s hourly labor costs grew 3.3 times, Eurostat data show.

Expressed in national currency, Romania registered a 17.1 percent increase in hourly labour costs in the whole economy, from RON 24.7 in 2016 to RON 28.9 in 2017, the fastest growth in EU.

Official data show significant gaps between EU member states, “with the lowest hourly labour costs recorded in Bulgaria (EUR 4.9), Romania (EUR 6.3), Lithuania (EUR 8.0), Latvia (EUR 8.1), Hungary (EUR 9.1) and Poland (EUR 9.4), and the highest in Denmark (EUR 42.5), Belgium (EUR 39.6), Luxembourg (EUR 37.6), Sweden (EUR 36.6) and France (EUR 36.0)”.

Due to the fast wage growth, the gap between Romania and the other countries from EU’s Eastern flank has diminished. In 2004, labor costs in Hungary were 3.1 times higher than in Romania (EUR 5.9 vs. EUR 1.9), but last year the difference declined to 44 percent (EUR 9.1 vs. EUR 6.3).