Labour
costs and consumer inflation are growing much more quickly in the UK than the
rest of Europe according to a study for the Federation of European Employers.
The report reveals that since 1997 real
labour costs in the UK have grown by 16.7 per cent more than the rest of Europe
and including house prices, consumer inflation has increased by 5.5 per cent
above the European average.
It
concludes, “This effectively means that the average industrial workers is now
£20 worse off than if the UK was part of the eurozone.”
Danish
employees were paid most, with average hourly earnings of 23.66 euros and
workers in the former Soviet state Moldova were paid the worst, at an average
of .26 euros an hour.
The
study was carried out by the Personnel Policy Research Unit and was based on
IMF figures and projections from 1997 to 2001.
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By
Ben Willmott
