Belgium is among the European countries with the highest hourly labour cost and last year, this figure further increased by more than 9%, and was found to be the highest in Brussels.
A company in Belgium paid an average of €27.44 in labour costs per worked hour last year, human resources consultancy Securex calculated based on data from 20,847 companies. This marks a 9.1% increase compared to 2022.
At €31.45 (+ 9%), an hour worked costs companies in Brussels the most, followed by Flanders with €29.10 (+ 8.3%). In Wallonia, the cost per worked hour is lowest, at €25, but the southern region did record the biggest increase (+9.7%).
"Overall, the evolution is evenly distributed across all regions," Securex noted. "However, there are significant differences between sectors, both among blue and white-collar workers."
Highest and lowest costs
White-collar workers (e.g. management) in metal, machine, electrical construction and the chemical industry are the most expensive employees in Belgium, with a labour cost per hour worked of €45.31 and €44.53, respectively.
It is significantly lower among white-collar workers in independent retail trade. Here, companies have an average wage cost of €21.40 per hour worked. Among clerks retailing food products, it is €22.54. Among blue-collar workers, the cost is even lower in the agricultural (€17.85) and horticultural sectors (€20.34).
The wage costs per worked hour were calculated by dividing the total annual wage costs by the number of hours worked by all employees in service, meaning this figure also includes people on flexible contracts such as job students. The hourly cost includes social security contributions and other labour-related costs in addition to gross wages. Securex noted that the increase in 2023 can be explained by inflation-driven wage indexations as the number of hours worked did not fall.
Eurostat figures published in March showed the average hourly labour costs (without calculating hours worked) was €47.10 in 2023, up from €43.50 in 2022 (+8.1%). Since 2008, when the hourly cost was €32.90, it has increased by almost €15 per hour. On the EU level, Belgium came in third place.
