[ryanpepper]

Sure. How much are employer health plans in the US? Employer NI is 13% of the salary over £152 per week, so for an employee on £25000 per year, the employer has to fork out about another £2000 on top.

Almost all companies have a pension scheme too which are usually something like matched contributions - the employee contributes X% of their salary, and the employer contributes an additional X% of their salary up to some threshold (usually 5-10%).

Starting salary for any graduate job is about that in the UK, and most of Europe too. I suppose that the cost of upping and moving is significant enough to put people off. Plus, the difficulty in getting a visa is likely a major factor.