Labour costs in BD, Myanmar, Cambodia lowest in world

Labour costs in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Cambodia are lowest in the world, according to a new global ranking.

Businesses with supply chains and operations in these countries are benefiting from the world's lowest labour costs, said the report.

Labour Costs Index prepared by risk analytics company Verisk Maplecroft measures a combination of wages, employment regulations, social security contributions and labour productivity to enable companies to identify and compare the cost competitiveness of workforces in 172 countries, according to a report by supplymanagement.com

Western Europe makes up the majority of the 25 highest cost countries in the index. Italy and France are the most costly countries in which to hire staff, it says.

While Western Europe is relatively productive in global terms, high average wages, expensive severance mechanisms and high employer social security contributions reduce its attractiveness as a location to employ staff.

The cost competitiveness of markets where labour costs are the lowest could be offset by the risks of poor working conditions and high levels of child labour and trafficking, and that these countries are rated as "extreme risk," it said.