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Book a call ↗Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is the group of countries between Germany and Russia, from the Baltic states to the Balkans. There is no single official definition. The OECD's list of Central and Eastern European Countries has 12 members: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (OECD definition, via UN ESCWA). The UN's statistical regions split the same countries across Eastern, Northern and Southern Europe (UN M49).
For a US company hiring in Europe, CEE matters because it combines EU membership, deep technical talent pools and labour costs well below the EU average.
The CEE countries in the EU, at a glance
| Country | Joined the EU | Euro since | ICT specialists, share of jobs (2025) | Hourly labour cost, EUR (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poland | 2004 | No | 4.5% | 19.1 |
| Czechia | 2004 | No | 4.7% | 19.8 |
| Estonia | 2004 | 2011 | 6.8% (est.) | 21.1 |
| Lithuania | 2004 | 2015 | 5.7% | 17.8 |
| Latvia | 2004 | 2014 | 4.5% | 16.3 |
| Slovakia | 2004 | 2009 | 4.4% (est.) | 19.8 |
| Slovenia | 2004 | 2007 | 4.5% | 29.7 |
| Hungary | 2004 | No | 4.6% (est.) | 15.2 |
| Croatia | 2013 | 2023 | 4.9% (est.) | 18.4 |
| Romania | 2007 | No | 2.7% (est.) | 13.6 |
| Bulgaria | 2007 | 2026 | 4.8% | 12.0 |
| EU average | 5.0% (est.) | 34.9 |
Sources: EU membership and euro years from the EU country pages; Bulgaria joined the euro on 1 January 2026 (ECB); ICT specialists from Eurostat (est. means a Eurostat estimate); hourly labour costs from Eurostat, for businesses with 10 or more employees. Albania, an EU candidate country, is not in the table.
Why companies hire there
Estonia has the highest ICT specialist share in the region, 6.8% of employment against an EU average of 5.0%, while Poland has the largest number (Eurostat). Demand is high across Europe: Eurofound reports that 57% of firms with IT vacancies had trouble filling them in 2024 (Eurofound). All 11 EU members in the table are covered by EU free movement, so EU citizens can work across them without a work permit.
What it means when you hire in Europe
Treat CEE as a set of different markets, not one. Currency, tax, contract norms and time zones differ: Warsaw sits one hour behind Tallinn. Start with the country-by-country guide and the Poland hiring guide, check overlap in nearshoring, and set pay with salary benchmarking, not national averages.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by country and change, so confirm your case with a local lawyer or accountant.
Euro Remote Talent runs searches across Europe for a flat $6,500, with a shortlist of three vetted candidates in 21 days and a 12-month replacement guarantee, through Hiring Done For You. If you would rather run the search yourself, a job post is $299, live for 60 days, and the fee is credited in full if you later move to the done-for-you service.
