2024-03-22 13:48:19
In Belgium, labor costs have increased almost twice as much as the European average, a consequence of the combination of inflation, wage indexation and labor shortages, according to the observations made by Eurostat in recent years and confirmed in a new report published on Tuesday (19 March).
The latest report fromEurostatthe official statistical office of the European Union, shows that in the fourth quarter of 2023, hourly labor costs increased by 4% in the EU compared to the same quarter of the previous year .
The cost of labor, a important indicator to monitor inflation risks, is the sum of the salary paid to an employee, the cost of their employment, including benefits, taxes and other costs borne by the employer.
The largest increases in labor costs were recorded in countries to the east of the European Union: Romania (16.8%), Hungary (16%) and Poland (13.1%). The increase observed in Belgium (7.9%) is not as significant, but is, like that of Luxembourg (7.8%), much higher than the average increase in this indicator in the euro zone, which amounts to 3.4%.
On the other hand, the figures for neighboring countries are closer to this average, or even lower than it (4.2% in the Netherlands, 2.8% in France and 2.5% in Germany).
In terms of labor costs, Belgium, Luxembourg and Denmark have the highest hourly costs, with 50.7 euros per hour in Luxembourg, 46.8 euros in Denmark and 43.5 euros in Belgium. France and the Netherlands follow closely, with 40.8 and 40.5 euros per hour respectively.
In Romania, Hungary and Poland, where the largest wage increases were recorded at the end of 2023, annual labor costs are significantly lower, at 9.5 euros per hour, 10, 7 euros and 12.5 euros, respectively. For comparison, the EU country with the lowest rate in 2022 is Bulgaria, with just 8.2 euros per hour.
Belgium, Luxembourg and Malta are the only EU countries to apply a salary indexation system (both in the public and private sectors), under which salaries are increased in order to protect citizens and their purchasing power from rising inflation. During the energy crisis, Belgium was the Member State where citizens saw their purchasing power decrease the least.
It should be noted that salary costs are not a sufficient criterion for estimating the net salary received at the end of the month, especially since real salaries – which take into account inflation – have decreased over the last two years, as reported by EURACTIV.
In 2023, the Belgian Higher Employment Council indicated that the country was facing one of the most serious labor shortages in the EU, a phenomenon which concerns the vast majority of member states, putting Belgian companies in an increasingly difficult situation. more complex.
Belgium, which has held the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU since January, has made the fight against this crisis a priority.
[Édité par Anne-Sophie Gayet et Thomas Moller-Nielsen]
1711115831
#Belgian #companies #affected #rising #wage #costs #Euractiv