# Germany Ranks 32 of 33 on Manufacturing Labor Cost in New Competitiveness Ranking
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — August 25, 2026 — Germany closed 2025 ranked 32nd of 33 major manufacturing economies on manufacturing labor cost, the finding behind the country's 20th-of-33 overall position in the Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review — one place lower than last year.
The Industry Economics & Competitiveness Annual Review compares 33 major manufacturing economies on the same basis across 14 pillars, including manufacturing labor cost, with findings drawn across 7 industries.
Manufacturing labor cost, 2025 — score 0–100 in the review, higher = cheaper labor · the five cheapest and the five dearest of 33
Manufacturing labor in Germany costs $55.0 an hour, counting everything an employer pays — more than in the United States ($50.8), and less than only the Netherlands ($55.5) and Belgium ($57.1). The finding indicates the cost base, not a lack of industry, pins Germany's overall rank: on the pillars that measure industrial scale, Germany ranks 4th of 33 for the size of its home market, 5th for industrial output, and 4th for freight access. Building a new plant in Germany costs 1.24 times what the same plant costs in the United States, and capital ranks 29th of 33 — part of the same high-cost-base pattern.
> "Only China, India and the United States put a bigger home market behind their plants than Germany. That scale, plus the fifth-largest industrial output of the 33, is what keeps Europe's industrial anchor competitive at $55-an-hour labor costs."
>
> — Bruno Maia, Lead Analyst, Industry Economics & Competitiveness
Germany has slipped from 16th to 20th over the past decade, the report finds.
The Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review is free to read, and its methodology is open.
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