How much does manufacturing labour cost in the Baltics and the Nordics?

How much does an hour of manufacturing labour cost in each country?

From EUR 14.9 in Latvia to EUR 47.2 in Sweden in 2025. Lithuania (EUR 16.4) and Estonia (EUR 19.5) sit close to Latvia, and Finland (EUR 43.6) close to Sweden. The EU average for manufacturing was EUR 35.0 (Eurostat). An hour in Sweden cost about 3.2 times an hour in Latvia (our division).

Eurostat's whole-economy average for 2025 was EUR 34.9 an hour in the EU and EUR 38.2 in the euro area, from Bulgaria at EUR 12.0 to Luxembourg at EUR 56.8 (Eurostat). That is a different measure from the manufacturing figures in the table, so the two are not mixed on this page.

Is the gap between the Baltics and the Nordics closing?

In percentage terms, yes. In the year to the fourth quarter of 2025 total hourly labour costs rose 9.0% in Lithuania, 7.4% in Latvia and 5.2% in Estonia, against 3.4% in Sweden and 2.9% in Finland. For the whole Union, Eurostat writes that "hourly labour costs rose by 3.3% in the euro area and by 3.7% in the EU".

Because a Nordic hour starts from about two to three times a Baltic one, a faster rise in percent does not by itself shrink the gap in euros. Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) wrote in March 2025, comparing the Baltic states with Germany: "Die Differenz zwischen Deutschland und den baltischen Ländern bei den Arbeitskosten ist allerdings rückläufig" (the labour cost gap between Germany and the Baltic states is, however, shrinking).

What does labour cost tell a brand about the unit price?

Less than the gap suggests. Labour is one part of a unit price next to materials, packaging, batch size and product development, so an hour that costs a third as much does not make a product a third as cheap. The hourly figure is also an average across all manufacturing, not the rate of the manufacturer you ask.

• What the hour includes. Eurostat's hourly labour cost includes non-wage costs as well as wages. In Sweden non-wage costs were 31.7% of total labour costs across the economy in 2025, second only to France (Eurostat).
• How much hand work your product needs. The more of the work is sewing, upholstery or assembly by hand, the more the hourly rate weighs in the price. LIAA writes that Latvian sewing companies work as outsourced production for EU brands.
• The size of the order. A unit price is quoted for a batch; the minimum order guide explains how to compare minimum orders across manufacturers.
• Who develops the product. Development from your brief is work on top of production; what decides the price of a private label product goes through each part.

How big is manufacturing in each country's economy?

Biggest in Sweden by every count, and heaviest in Finland as a share of the economy. Manufacturing was 16.22% of Finland's gross value added in 2024, level with the EU's 16.06%, and 11.58% of Latvia's, the lowest of the five (Eurostat national accounts). All three Baltic states are below the EU share.

Turnover per enterprise is an average. EUR 1.15 million to EUR 1.80 million in the Baltic states against EUR 5.31 million to EUR 6.33 million in Finland and Sweden says that Baltic manufacturing is made of smaller firms on average, not that any one manufacturer you talk to is small.

What do the higher-cost countries make for export?

Chemicals, machinery and vehicles, more than furniture or textiles. Business Sweden puts chemicals and pharmaceuticals at 13.9% of Swedish goods exports in 2024, machinery at 13.5% and automotive at 13.4%, against 1.1% for furniture and 2.4% for textiles and footwear. In Finland chemical industry products were 19.8% of 2025 goods exports (EK).

In the lower-cost Baltic states wood and furniture weigh more: furniture was the largest group of Lithuanian-origin goods exports in 2025, at 12.9% (Innovation Agency), and wood the largest in Latvia, at 15.3% (Central Statistical Bureau). GTAI's verdict, "Finnland kann bei den baltischen Arbeitskosten nicht mithalten" (Finland cannot keep up with Baltic labour costs), comes with a counterweight: its next heading says nowhere in the EU is electricity cheaper than in Finland.

Which manufacturers in the Baltic states publish a minimum order of 500 units or fewer?

22 manufacturers listed on NordSourced in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia state a minimum order of 500 or fewer finished units on their own website, out of 36 in the three countries that publish a minimum order at all. They are below in alphabetical order, with the quantity in their own unit; the order is not a ranking.

Each figure belongs to one service, often a ready-made product rather than your own formula, so read what it covers on the manufacturer's profile before comparing.

Questions and answers

Where to go next

• Baltics or Nordics: where should a brand have its products made?
• What decides the price of a private label product?
• Is it cheaper to manufacture in Europe or in China?
• What minimum order do private label manufacturers require?
• Private label manufacturers in the Baltics, ranked by evidence
• Why source private label from Northern Europe?
• Send a brief: we ask the manufacturers you approve, without your name

Sources

1. Eurostat, Labour cost levels by NACE Rev. 2 activity (lc_lci_lev), manufacturing, 2025, Eurostat. Checked 12 Oct 2026.
2. Eurostat, Enterprise statistics by size class and NACE Rev. 2 activity (sbs_ovw_act), reference year 2024, Eurostat. Checked 12 Oct 2026.
3. Eurostat, Gross value added by industry (nama_10_a10), manufacturing and total, 2024 and 2025 (API query), Eurostat. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
4. Labour cost index, fourth quarter of 2025 (euro indicators, 19 March 2026), Eurostat. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
5. Hourly labour costs (Statistics Explained), 2025 data, Eurostat. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
6. Estland, Lettland, Litauen und Finnland haben viel zu bieten (14 March 2025), Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI). Checked 13 Oct 2026.
7. Textile and clothing industry, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA). Checked 12 Oct 2026.
8. Global export of goods 2025: global headwinds slow Swedish goods exports, Business Sweden, UN Comtrade data. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
9. Ulkomaankauppa (foreign trade), Finnish Customs data for 2025, Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK). Checked 13 Oct 2026.
10. Lietuvos eksporto raida (2020-2025 m.), export review of 12 June 2026, Innovation Agency Lithuania (Inovacijų agentūra), State Data Agency data. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
11. Foreign trade of Latvia in 2025 (provisional), press release of 19 February 2026, Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSB). Checked 13 Oct 2026.

Directory figures are counted from the manufacturers listed on NordSourced, each listed because its own website says it makes products for other brands; see how we check. This page is general information, not legal advice. Found a mistake? Tell us.