UK is now a cheap country, if you are a boss that is.

[h="1"]Workers in the UK are CHEAPER to hire than in Spain or Italy as stagnant wages erode British pay packets[/h]

Workers in the UK are cheaper to hire than their counterparts in Italy or Spain as stagnant or falling wages continue to erode British pay packets, official figures reveal.
UK workers have endured years of poor wage growth, which is starting to turn the UK into a 'low-cost country' among many of its European neighbours.
The average cost of employing someone in the UK remained unchanged at 20.90 euros an hour last year – significantly below the EU average of 23.70 euros.


Meanwhile the cost of employing someone in Spain is higher at 21.10 euros and higher still at 28.10 euros in Italy, according to official figures from the EU's statistics office Eurostat.
The average hourly labour cost in Norway is more than double that of the UK at an eye-watering 48.50 euros an hour.


A weak pound throughout the economic downturn may also have helped widen the gap between the UK and its EU neighbours.
British households have faced years of squeezed budgets as wages remain below inflation, despite improvements to the economy in general.
The Bank of England slashed its wage forecast in half earlier this month, after data showed that annual wages fell for the first time in five years in the second quarter of 2014.


Wage growth is likely to be a key factor used by the Bank to decide when to finally increase interest rates, which have been at a record low since 2009.
Wages are expected to grow by just 1.25 per cent this year, which amounts to a drop in real terms as inflation is currently at 1.6 per cent.
Meanwhile Labour costs in Germany are now around 50 per cent higher than in the UK – 31.3 euros an hour versus the UK’s 20.9 euros.
Labour costs in France are even higher at 34.3 euros an hour.
Citi economist Michael Saunders told the Financial Times’ Sarah O’Connor: ‘I think this is part of the story of very strong job growth in the UK. The UK by western European standards is a relatively low-cost country, so when international firms are choosing where to site staff, they’ll put them in the UK’.

At least that should help employment... Bright side?

Posted from TSR Mobile

That's the idea behind it as to why it is good news.

It has nothing to do with actual wage but cost to hire an employee.