Nominal unit labour cost, annual change i
33 countries with data for 2025 · Frequency: Annual · Unit: % · Basic
Source: Eurostat (nama_10_lp_ulc), retrieved 2026-10-16 · View on Eurostat · See technical sheet
EU273.3%
Euro area3.3%
Spain4.4% 21 of 33
Simple average4.1%
Highest · 
Bulgaria9.4%
Bulgaria9.4%Lowest · 
Ireland-3.0%
Ireland-3.0%Trend
Add or remove countries from the legend. Eurostat data, not seasonally adjusted unless stated.
Country ranking
| # | Country | Value | Year-on-year change | EU27 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| · |  European Union (27) | 3.3% | -1.4 pp | — |
| · | Euro area (21) | 3.3% | -1.0 pp | — |
| · | Euro area (20, until 2025) | 3.3% | -1.0 pp | — |
| 1 | Ireland | -3.0% | -8.7 pp | 1/27 |
| 2 |  Sweden | -0.3% | -2.8 pp | 2/27 |
| 3 |  Switzerland | -0.2% | -2.1 pp | — |
| 4 |  Denmark | 0.8% | -0.4 pp | 3/27 |
| 5 |  France | 1.6% | -0.7 pp | 4/27 |
| 6 |  Finland | 2.0% | +2.1 pp | 5/27 |
| 7 |  Cyprus | 2.1% | +0.5 pp | 6/27 |
| 8 |  Greece | 2.3% | -2.3 pp | 7/27 |
| 9 |  Belgium | 2.9% | +0.3 pp | 8/27 |
| 10 |  Austria | 3.2% | -4.5 pp | 9/27 |
| 11 |  Latvia | 3.3% | -2.1 pp | 10/27 |
| 11 |  Estonia | 3.3% | -3.4 pp | 10/27 |
| 13 |  Malta | 3.5% | -4.1 pp | 12/27 |
| 13 |  Italy | 3.5% | -0.4 pp | 12/27 |
| 15 |  Norway | 3.8% | -0.7 pp | — |
| 15 |  Romania | 3.8% | -5.2 pp | 14/27 |
| 17 |  Poland | 4.0% | -4.7 pp | 15/27 |
| 18 |  Netherlands | 4.1% | -2.4 pp | 16/27 |
| 19 |  Czechia | 4.2% | -0.7 pp | 17/27 |
| 20 |  Luxembourg | 4.3% | +3.5 pp | 18/27 |
| 21 |  Spain | 4.4% | +1.4 pp | 19/27 |
| 21 |  Germany | 4.4% | -0.9 pp | 19/27 |
| 23 |  Portugal | 5.2% | -1.1 pp | 21/27 |
| 24 |  Slovakia | 5.3% | -0.2 pp | 22/27 |
| 25 |  Slovenia | 5.6% | +1.1 pp | 23/27 |
| 26 |  Lithuania | 6.0% | -0.4 pp | 24/27 |
| 27 |  Iceland | 6.1% | -1.4 pp | — |
| 28 |  Montenegro | 6.7% | -3.0 pp | — |
| 29 |  Serbia | 7.7% | -2.2 pp | — |
| 30 |  Hungary | 8.1% | -4.0 pp | 25/27 |
| 31 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 8.6% | +0.4 pp | — |
| 32 |  Croatia | 8.9% | -1.9 pp | 26/27 |
| 33 | Bulgaria | 9.4% | -2.1 pp | 27/27 |
Download the full series Premium CSVExcel
About this indicator
- Which European country has the highest nominal unit labour cost, annual change?
- Bulgaria, with 9.4% in 2025. The EU27 figure is 3.3%.
- Where does Spain rank?
- Spain: 4.4% in 2025, rank 21 of 33 countries.
- What does nominal unit labour cost, annual change measure?
- Nominal unit labour cost, annual change, in %. A lower value indicates a more favourable situation.
- Where does the nominal unit labour cost, annual change data come from?
- Eurostat, dataset nama_10_lp_ulc («Labour productivity and unit labour costs - annual data»). RAC-EU downloads it from Eurostat's official API and checks it every day.
- How often is nominal unit labour cost, annual change updated?
- Annual. The latest period published is 2025; RAC-EU adds new data and revisions on the day Eurostat publishes them.
The full series since 1975, the chart and the analysis are in the Basic plan. See plans · Full methodology sheet →