Switzerland slipped back from second to third place and Norway slipped from third to fourth place. Germans are now the fifth highest paid workers, compared with fourth place in 2000. British workers fell from fifth highest paid to sixth, just ahead of the Isle of Man, which entered the survey for the first time. The Netherlands replaced Ireland at eighth in the league, followed by Belgium at ninth, Sweden at 10th, France at 11th, Finland 12th and Ireland 13th. Wage rates in all these states are close together, suggesting, says FedEE's Mr Robin Chater, that EU harmonisation policies are beginning to work.
Wage rates fall dramatically as the survey moves east.