Chemical industry suffers due to the government measures
The sales of the chemical and pharmaceutical sector rose 5% to €10.3bn in 2018, but its value added shrank 5% to €2bn. Labor productivity even shrank 30%. Companies blame this on government measures such as higher pay for night, weekend, and holiday work, as well as increases in minimum wage. A large share of chemical firms must keep 24/7 operation. Labor costs in the sector rose 10% last year. It consists of 300 companies that employ 46,000.
