The real cost of employment across Europe in 2026
This report puts them in front of you first. It provides a full picture across 36 European countries, including what the business pays, what the employee receives, and everything in between. Each country is benchmarked at €70,000 gross and at local market rates, so the figures reflect both how each system works and what it costs in practice.
In this report, you will learn:
- The total cost of employment in 36 European countries, and how it shifts at local salary benchmarks
- A full breakdown of employer contributions, deductions and taxes for every country
- What employees actually take home in net pay
- Which countries deliver the most net pay for every euro spent, and which don’t
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