Luxembourg, 29/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - Labour productivity levels in the European Union are on average 2.5 times higher than in the 13 candidate countries (CC13), and the same trend applies for remuneration levels. These are the main findings of a report published recently by Eurostat presenting an analysis using gross value added (GVA), employment, remuneration and productivity indicators for the year 1998.
The distribution of GVA by branch is clearly different in the candidate countries from the EU, with a weight of agriculture about four times higher and the share of services half that of the EU. In 1998, the share of agriculture ranged from 2.7% in Malta to 21.1% in Bulgaria, compared to 2.6% in the EU, and the share of agriculture in total employment ranged from 5.5% in the Czech Republic to 43% in Turkey, compared to 4.8% in the EU. Eurostat stresses that labour productivity was on average in the candidate countries 41% that of the EU, but there were huge differences among the candidate countries: Slovenia (71% of the EU average), the Czech Republic (58%) and Hungary (58%) were the most productive countries, surpassing or nearly reaching the lowest EU levels of Portugal (55%). At the other end of the scale, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania had productivity rates of less than one third of the EU average (between 25 and 32% of the EU average). In agriculture, labour productivity in the CC13 was only 28% that of the EU, but this is also the area where the differences between candidate countries are the greatest: ranging from 12% of the EU average in Latvia and 13% in Poland to 88% in the Czech Republic and 94% in Slovenia. For trade, transport and communications, productivity ranged between 27% of the EU average in Bulgaria to 94% in Turkey. Eurostat points out that the level of remuneration in the CC13 matches the lower labour productivity, with employees receiving only 42% of the EU average with Slovenians being remunerated the highest, at 70%.