Employers in western Europe looking to save on wage costs are increasingly relocating operations to eastern Europe, Asia and South America.
In western Europe itself, there are significant differences in gross median weekly pay between the principal states. The countries with the highest gross pay levels are Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Germany. At the bottom of the western European pay league are Spain, Greece, Malta and Portugal. In fact, Portugal's median weekly earnings are just 28% of those in Germany.
Pay in the EU's eastern European member states* is generally much lower than in western Europe, with the highest rates being approximately one-third of those paid in Germany. Social security charges are generally higher than in western Europe, but corporate taxation is usually low enough to offset such costs.
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