Labour cost increases between 2008 and 2012 were higher than those in the EU, according to Eurostat.

Malta’s hourly labour costs, including wages and social security contributions, stood at €12.3 last year, compared with the EU’s €23.4.

In the five years under review, they rose by 9.3 per cent compared with the EU’s 8.6 per cent.

Malta is still considered to be one of the member States with low labour costs and this normal-ly serves as an attraction for fo-reign investment.

However, with rising costs and the entry of former communist countries into the EU, more members are considered to be cheaper, posing a threat to the island’s attractiveness in certain economic areas.

According to the EU data, labour costs in Malta were less than half the eurozone’s average last year.

A Swedish employer was expected to fork out €39 for every hour of work last year when the same job would cost a Bulgarian company €3.7.

Eurostat said that, on an EU level, labour costs per hour were highest in industry (an average of €24.2), followed by services (€23.7) and construction (€21).

In Malta, the non-business sectors – such as education, health and social work activities, entertainment and recreation – had the highest hourly labour cost (€13.1), followed by the services industry (€12.5).

Between 2008 and 2012, the largest increases in the hourly labour costs in the EU were recorded in Bulgaria (42.6 per cent), Sweden (23.3 per cent) and Austria (15.5 per cent).