Currency Problems Affected International Unit Labour Cost Position in 2003

In an international hierarchy of labour costs, Austria currently ranks 9th and is thus well within the EU average. Labour is most expensive in Norway, where one hour of work is paid 34 percent higher than in Austria, followed by Denmark (+29 percent), Germany (+26 percent) and Switzerland (+24 percent). Work is cheaper by 2 percent in France, by 7 percent in the USA, by 10 percent in the UK and by 17 percent in Italy.