Labour costs (B–S) i
26 countries with data for Q2 2026 · Frequency: Quarterly · Unit: index 2020 = 100 · Basic
Source: Eurostat (lc_lci_r2_q), retrieved 2026-10-16 · View on Eurostat · See technical sheet
EU27—
Euro area—
Spain121.1 24 of 26
Simple average150.1
Highest · 
Serbia211.9
Serbia211.9Lowest · 
Italy111.6
Italy111.6Trend
Add or remove countries from the legend. Eurostat data, not seasonally adjusted unless stated.
Country ranking
| # | Country | Value | Year-on-year change | EU27 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbia | 211.9 | +12.0% | — |
| 2 |  Bulgaria | 200.1 | +9.9% | 1/24 |
| 3 |  Hungary | 186.6 | +7.9% | 2/24 |
| 4 |  Lithuania | 185.5 | +9.2% | 3/24 |
| 5 |  Croatia | 179.5 | +9.1% | 4/24 |
| 6 |  Romania | 174.8 | +3.2% | 5/24 |
| 7 |  Poland | 168.6 | +4.7% | 6/24 |
| 8 |  Latvia | 164.8 | +4.5% | 7/24 |
| 9 |  Estonia | 161.4 | +6.5% | 8/24 |
| 10 |  Norway | 160.5 | +4.3% | — |
| 11 |  Slovenia | 152.0 | +7.0% | 9/24 |
| 12 |  Netherlands | 150.3 | +4.4% | 10/24 |
| 13 |  Slovakia | 147.1 | +2.8% | 11/24 |
| 14 |  Austria | 143.1 | +3.3% | 12/24 |
| 15 |  Ireland | 136.0 | +4.1% | 13/24 |
| 16 |  Portugal | 135.0 | +3.6% | 14/24 |
| 17 |  Germany | 134.8 | +3.0% | 15/24 |
| 18 |  Greece | 132.4 | +4.0% | 16/24 |
| 19 |  Finland | 131.9 | +3.5% | 17/24 |
| 20 |  Czechia | 128.8 | +5.6% | 18/24 |
| 21 |  Malta | 124.1 | +2.8% | 19/24 |
| 22 |  Cyprus | 121.9 | +3.8% | 20/24 |
| 22 |  Luxembourg | 121.9 | +1.8% | 20/24 |
| 24 |  Spain | 121.1 | +4.8% | 22/24 |
| 25 |  France | 117.5 | +2.1% | 23/24 |
| 26 | Italy | 111.6 | +1.9% | 24/24 |
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About this indicator
- Which European country has the highest labour costs (B–S)?
- Serbia, with 211.9 in Q2 2026.
- Where does Spain rank?
- Spain: 121.1 in Q2 2026, rank 24 of 26 countries.
- What does labour costs (B–S) measure?
- Labour costs (B–S), in index 2020 = 100. Descriptive indicator: a higher or lower value is not better in itself; the ranking orders from highest to lowest.
- Where does the labour costs (B–S) data come from?
- Eurostat, dataset lc_lci_r2_q («Labour cost index by NACE Rev. 2 activity - nominal value, quarterly data»). RAC-EU downloads it from Eurostat's official API and checks it every day.
- How often is labour costs (B–S) updated?
- Quarterly. The latest period published is Q2 2026; RAC-EU adds new data and revisions on the day Eurostat publishes them.
The full series since Q1 1996, the chart and the analysis are in the Basic plan. See plans · Full methodology sheet →