EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth

Lithuania had the highest nominal unit labour cost, annual growth of 27 EU countries in 2022, at 15.9%. Greece had the lowest, at 0%. The median was 5.4% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 3.4%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest15.9Lithuania

Lowest0Greece

Median5.427 EU countries

European Union (27)3.4History

Map of EU countries, 2022

Under 2.5
2.5 to 4.7
4.7 to 6.6
6.6 to 9.2
9.2 and over

%, 2022. 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, 2022

%. 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

Rank	EU countries	2022 (%)	Change on 2021
1	Lithuania	15.9	+8.5 pts
2	Hungary	14.2	+11.2 pts
3	Estonia	11.8	+10.6 pts
4	Latvia	11.4	+12.1 pts
5	Bulgaria	10.8	+7.5 pts
6	Romania	9.2	+8 pts
7	Luxembourg	9.1	+7.8 pts
8	Poland	7.9	+7.1 pts
9	Malta	7.4	+11.7 pts
10	Slovakia	7.2	+6.6 pts
11	Croatia	6.8	+11.9 pts
12	Denmark	6.2	+7.2 pts
13	Finland	5.5	+1.8 pts
14	Belgium	5.4	+5 pts
15	Slovenia	5.2	+4.3 pts
16	Czechia	5	+1.9 pts
17	France	4.5	+3.7 pts
18	Sweden	4.3	+3.4 pts
19	Germany	3.8	+4.4 pts
20	Ireland	3	+7.2 pts
21	Cyprus	2.7	+6.1 pts
22	Portugal	2.4	+0.7 pts
23	Austria	2.1	+2 pts
23	Spain	2.1	+1.3 pts
25	Netherlands	1.9	+3.5 pts
26	Italy	0.8	+2.1 pts
27	Greece	0	+1.7 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. 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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_nominal_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nominal-unit-labour-cost-growth/eu-countries?period=2022.
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  -

Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Embed code

<iframe src="https://invokely.ai/embed/rankings/nominal-unit-labour-cost-growth/eu-countries?period=2022" width="760" height="500" title="EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth, 2022, chart from Invokely" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank EU countries by nominal unit labour cost, annual growth using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"nominal_unit_labour_cost_growth","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=nominal_unit_labour_cost_growth&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Lithuania, with 15.9% in 2022, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Greece, with 0% in 2022.

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.