According to Eurostat data in 2017, labor costs per hour on average for the EU amounted to 26.8 euros. The lowest is in Bulgaria - 4.9 euro per hour, and the highest in Denmark - 42.5 euro per hour. Labor costs in Bulgaria are almost 5.5 times lower than the EU average. These statistics are announced by Social Minister Biser Petkov in a written answer to a parliamentary question quoted by BGNES.

On average, for the EU, labor costs in 2017 increased by 2.3%, wage costs increased by 2.4%, and social and health insurance costs by 2.1%. In 2017, labor costs in Romania rose most - 15%, the smallest growth (with a negative sign) is in the UK - 4.1%. In Bulgaria, labor costs in 2017 increased by 12% - second only to Romania.

The biggest increase in salaries is in Romania - 15.1%, while in the UK wage costs are down 4.5%. In 2017, wage costs account for 75.7% of EU labor costs on average, the lowest in France (67.2%), the highest in Malta (93.5%). In Bulgaria, wage costs increased by 11.8% - third place after Romania (15.1%) and Hungary (13.5%).

Two-digit growth also recorded the cost of social and health insurance, which increased by 12.7%. The highest growth rate is in Romania - 14.9%, a decrease of 9.1% in Luxembourg.

In 2017 the minimum wage in the EU ranges from € 235.20 in Bulgaria to € 1 998.59 in Luxembourg.

Labor productivity in Bulgaria is over two times lower than the EU average.

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