Labour costs in Ireland are among the lowest in the European Union, according to figures released by EU statistics office Eurostat.
In 2000, average labour costs per hour worked in industry and services in Ireland were €17.34 - higher than Portugal at €8.13, Greece at €10.40, and Spain at €14.22.
In addition, Ireland has the second-lowest level of employers' social contributions at 12.4 per cent. This is behind Denmark, at 8 per cent.
Labour costs were highest in Sweden (€28.56), Denmark (€27.10) and Germany (€26.54).
In the other six member states for which data was available, the hourly labour costs were close to the EU average of €22.70.
In 2000, among the applicant countries (excluding Malta), the average labour costs per hour worked in industry and services ranged from €2.42 in Latvia and €2.71 in Lithuania to €10.74 in Cyprus and €8.98 in Slovenia.