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Itโ€™s one ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ labour market, but pays โ‚ฌ83k in one country and โ‚ฌ15k in another.

Published April 4, 2026 Last Updated July 3, 2026 linkedin verified
At a Glance

Itโ€™s one ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ labour market, but pays โ‚ฌ83k in one country and โ‚ฌ15k in another. Factor in cost of living, and... ...the gap doesn't change. Europe works like one labour market, but the same talent is paid very differently depending on where it is: โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ: โ‚ฌ83k โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ: โ‚ฌ71k ๐Ÿ†š โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ, ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น: ~โ‚ฌ30k โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท, ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ, ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด: ~โ‚ฌ18k ๐Ÿ‘‰ Some workers in Europe earn US-level salaries. Others earn salaries closer to top emerging economies: ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ, ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ: "You need to account for cost of living!" โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ: โ‚ฌ83k / 78 = 1.

Full intelligence

Itโ€™s one ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ labour market, but pays โ‚ฌ83k in one country and โ‚ฌ15k in another.

Factor in cost of living, and...

...the gap doesn't change.

Europe works like one labour market, but the same talent is paid very differently depending on where it is:

โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ: โ‚ฌ83k

โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ: โ‚ฌ71k

๐Ÿ†š

โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น, ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ, ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น: ~โ‚ฌ30k

โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท, ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ, ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด: ~โ‚ฌ18k

๐Ÿ‘‰ Some workers in Europe earn US-level salaries.

Others earn salaries closer to top emerging economies: ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ, ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท

๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ: "You need to account for cost of living!"

โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ: โ‚ฌ83k / 78 = 1.06k

โ†’ ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ: โ‚ฌ71k / 78.9 = 0.9k

๐Ÿ†š

โ†’ Southern Europe: ~โ‚ฌ30k / 53.9 = 0.56k

โ†’ Eastern Europe: ~โ‚ฌ18k / 45.4 = 0.4k

๐Ÿ‘‰ Even after adjusting, real earning power is still ~2x higher in top-paying countries.

So are we really convergingโ€ฆ or just making it easier for companies to hire the same talent at very different costs across countries?

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Source: Eurostat, OECD; Numbeo.

Related hub: Schindler intelligence hub

Original source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/martellifederico_its-one-labour-market-but-pays-83k-activity-7444624568364863488-SjUT