Data / Rankings / Nominal unit labour cost, annual growth / EU countries

EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth

Latvia had the highest nominal unit labour cost, annual growth of 26 EU countries in 2019, at 6.6%. France had the lowest, at -0.9%. The median was 3.2% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 1.8%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest6.6Latvia
Lowest-0.9France
Median3.226 EU countries
European Union (27)1.8History

Map of EU countries, 2019

Austria: 2.2 %Belgium: 1.2 %Bulgaria: 1.4 %Cyprus: 4.5 %Czechia: 3.9 %Germany: 3.1 %Denmark: 1.5 %Estonia: 5.3 %Spain: 4.1 %Finland: 1.9 %France: -0.9 %Greece: -0.3 %Hungary: 5.1 %Ireland: 2.2 %Italy: 1.3 %Lithuania: 6 %Luxembourg: 2.7 %Latvia: 6.6 %Malta: 5.7 %Netherlands: 3 %Poland: 3.4 %Portugal: 3.3 %Romania: 6.4 %Sweden: 1 %Slovenia: 4.2 %Slovakia: 5.4 %
  • Under -0.6
  • -0.6 to 0
  • 0 to 2.5
  • 2.5 to 4.3
  • 4.3 and over
  • No data
%, 2019. Red areas are below zero and blue areas above it. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: Eurostat, Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2019

Latvia: 6.6 %Latvia6.6Romania: 6.4 %Romania6.4Lithuania: 6 %Lithuania6Malta: 5.7 %Malta5.7Slovakia: 5.4 %Slovakia5.4Estonia: 5.3 %Estonia5.3Hungary: 5.1 %Hungary5.1Cyprus: 4.5 %Cyprus4.5Slovenia: 4.2 %Slovenia4.2Spain: 4.1 %Spain4.1Czechia: 3.9 %Czechia3.9Poland: 3.4 %Poland3.4Portugal: 3.3 %Portugal3.3Germany: 3.1 %Germany3.1Netherlands: 3 %Netherlands3Luxembourg: 2.7 %Luxembourg2.7Austria: 2.2 %Austria2.2Ireland: 2.2 %Ireland2.2Finland: 1.9 %Finland1.9Denmark: 1.5 %Denmark1.5Bulgaria: 1.4 %Bulgaria1.4Italy: 1.3 %Italy1.3Belgium: 1.2 %Belgium1.2Sweden: 1 %Sweden1Greece: -0.3 %Greece-0.3France: -0.9 %France-0.9Latvia: 6.6 %Latvia6.6Romania: 6.4 %Romania6.4Lithuania: 6 %Lithuania6Malta: 5.7 %Malta5.7Slovakia: 5.4 %Slovakia5.4Estonia: 5.3 %Estonia5.3Hungary: 5.1 %Hungary5.1Cyprus: 4.5 %Cyprus4.5Slovenia: 4.2 %Slovenia4.2Spain: 4.1 %Spain4.1Czechia: 3.9 %Czechia3.9Poland: 3.4 %Poland3.4Portugal: 3.3 %Portugal3.3Germany: 3.1 %Germany3.1Netherlands: 3 %Netherlands3Luxembourg: 2.7 %Luxembourg2.7Austria: 2.2 %Austria2.2Ireland: 2.2 %Ireland2.2Finland: 1.9 %Finland1.9Denmark: 1.5 %Denmark1.5Bulgaria: 1.4 %Bulgaria1.4Italy: 1.3 %Italy1.3Belgium: 1.2 %Belgium1.2Sweden: 1 %Sweden1Greece: -0.3 %Greece-0.3France: -0.9 %France-0.9
%. Source: Eurostat, Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Latvia6.6+1.3 pts
2Romania6.4-1 pts
3Lithuania6+1.7 pts
4Malta5.7-1.2 pts
5Slovakia5.4+1.6 pts
6Estonia5.3-1.2 pts
7Hungary5.1+2.2 pts
8Cyprus4.5+2.9 pts
9Slovenia4.2+1.4 pts
10Spain4.1+2.6 pts
11Czechia3.9-2.6 pts
12Poland Series break3.4+1.5 pts
13Portugal3.3-0.5 pts
14Germany3.1-0.1 pts
15Netherlands3+0.3 pts
16Luxembourg2.7-2.5 pts
17Austria2.2+0.1 pts
17Ireland2.2+3.8 pts
19Finland1.9-0.7 pts
20Denmark1.50 pts
21Bulgaria1.4-5.7 pts
22Italy1.3-0.3 pts
23Belgium1.2-0.2 pts
24Sweden1-2.8 pts
25Greece-0.3+0.7 pts
26France-0.9-1.8 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Percentage change from the previous year in the nominal unit labour cost based on persons: compensation per employee divided by real labour productivity per person employed (GDP in chain-linked volumes per person employed).

Rises when pay grows faster than productivity. From the national accounts (ESA 2010). Ireland's GDP, and with it its productivity, is inflated and made volatile by the activities of multinational companies, notably the move of intellectual property to Ireland in 2015.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. 1 EU countries with data in other periods have no value for 2019 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_lp_ulc/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc) (EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_lp_ulc/default/table

MLA 9

Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc), EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth, 2019. Eurostat, European Commission, 16 Oct. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_lp_ulc/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nominal-unit-labour-cost-growth/eu-countries?period=2019. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc). EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_lp_ulc/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nominal-unit-labour-cost-growth/eu-countries?period=2019.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc), EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_lp_ulc/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nominal-unit-labour-cost-growth/eu-countries?period=2019 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_nominal_2019,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama\_10\_lp\_ulc): EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_lp_ulc/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nominal-unit-labour-cost-growth/eu-countries?period=2019. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama\_10\_lp\_ulc). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama\_10\_lp\_ulc/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc): EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/16
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_lp_ulc/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nominal-unit-labour-cost-growth/eu-countries?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nominal-unit-labour-cost-growth/eu-countries?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_lp_ulc/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest nominal unit labour cost, annual growth?

Latvia, with 6.6% in 2019, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest nominal unit labour cost, annual growth?

France, with -0.9% in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Labour productivity and unit labour costs, nominal unit labour cost based on persons, percentage change on previous period (nama_10_lp_ulc). Retrieved 2026-10-18. 1 EU countries have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.

EU countries: more rankings