Full text of 1993 : Text File, USDL: 94-403
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Table 1. Output per hour in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 2. Output per employed person in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 3. Output in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 4. Total hours in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 5. Employment in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 6. Average annual hours in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 7. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 8. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 9. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, national currency basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 10. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 11. Exchange rates, 12 countries, 1950-1993 (Value of foreign currency relative to U.S. dollar)
Table 12. Avg. annual compensation in manufacturing, nat. currency basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 13. Real hourly compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 14. Real average annual compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
Table 15. Korea: Output and unit labor costs, all employees in manufacturing, 1970-1993
Table 16. Taiwan: Output and unit labor costs, all employees in manufacturing, 1970-1993
Technical information USDL: 94-403
(202) 606-5654 For Release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact Wednesday, August 17, 1994
(202) 606-5902
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS OF MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY
AND UNIT LABOR COST TRENDS, 1993
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported on 1993
developments in manufacturing productivity (output per hour) and unit labor costs in the United States and
other industrial economies.
Manufacturing productivity in the United States increased by 4.2 percent in 1993, its largest annual
productivity increase since 1987. This rate of growth placed the United States about in the middle of the
range exhibited by the 11 countries for which 1993 data are available. Sweden had the largest increase in
productivity, at 9 percent, while Japan was the only country in the group to experience a decline in
productivity in 1993. (See table A and chart 1.)
Unit labor costs decreased 0.6 percent in the United States in 1993. Canada and the Scandinavian
countries also had declines in unit labor costs when measured on a national currency basis. When adjusted
for changes in foreign currency values relative to the U.S. dollar, however, Canada, Korea, Taiwan, and all
the European countries studied had greater reductions in unit labor costs than the United States. Japan was
the only economy in which U.S. dollar-based unit labor costs increased in 1993. The increase of nearly 18
percent was primarily the result of a sharp appreciation of the yen. (See table A and chart 2.)
The 1993 measures of percent changes in manufacturing productivity, unit labor costs, and related
variables for the United States, Canada, Japan, and the eight European countries for which data are available
are summarized in table A on page 2. Table A also shows percent changes in unit labor costs for Korea and
Taiwan, but comparable productivity figures are not available because adequate labor input measures have
not been developed. Table B shows average annual percent changes for selected periods from 1979 for 14
economies, which include Belgium in addition to the 13 economies for which 1993 measures are available.
Indexes of the measures for the United States, Canada, Japan, and the European countries are in tables 1-14;
output and unit labor cost indexes for Korea and Taiwan are in tables 15 and 16. U.S. indexes for most of
the measures are not currently available prior to 1977; see box on page 7.
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Table A. Manufacturing productivity* and labor costs in 13 countries or areas
Percent change, 1992-93
Output Hourly Unit labor costs
per Employ- Average compen- National U.S. Exchange
Country hour Output Hours ment hours sation currency dollars rate (1)
United States 4.2 4.8 0.5 - 0.3 0.8 3.6 - 0.6 - 0.6 ---
Canada 2.1 4.9 2.8 .7 2.0 .4 - 1.6 - 7.9 - 6.3
Japan - .6 - 4.2 - 3.6 - 1.1 - 2.5 2.7 3.3 17.9 14.1
Korea (2) NA 5.0 NA NA NA NA 1.6 - 1.1 - 2.7
Taiwan (2) NA 2.8 NA NA NA NA 3.0 - 1.9 - 4.8
Denmark 5.7 .6 - 4.8 - 4.1 - .8 2.5 - 3.0 - 9.7 - 6.9
France 1.2 - 3.2 - 4.3 - 4.0 - .3 3.6 2.4 - 4.4 - 6.6
Germany (3) 2.3 - 7.4 - 9.4 - 6.3 - 3.4 7.2 4.8 - 1.1 - 5.6
Italy 6.3 - 2.1 - 7.9 - 5.4 - 2.6 7.3 .9 -21.0 -21.7
Netherlands 1.2 - 2.5 - 3.6 - 3.6 .0 2.9 1.7 - 3.8 - 5.4
Norway 2.1 1.7 - .4 - .7 .3 1.0 - 1.1 -13.4 -12.5
Sweden 9.2 1.7 - 6.8 - 8.3 1.6 - 1.5 - 9.8 -32.6 -25.3
United Kingdom 5.2 1.7 - 3.3 - 2.6 - .7 5.4 .2 -14.8 -15.0
* Although the productivity measure relates output to the hours of persons employed in manufacturing, it
does not measure the specific contributions of labor as a single factor of production. Rather, it reflects
the joint effects of many influences, including new technology, capital investment, capacity utilization,
energy use, and managerial skills, as well as the skills and efforts of the work force.
(1) Value of foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar.
(2) See technical note.
(3) Data relate to the former West Germany.
NA=Not Available.
Productivity, output, and labor input
The U.S. manufacturing labor productivity increase of 4.2 percent in 1993 resulted from output
growth of nearly 5 percent coupled with a slight increase, 0.5 percent, in labor input (as measured by hours
worked). Of the 11 countries for which data are available, only the United States and Canada recorded
increases in both output and hours worked over the year. The other countries that had manufacturing
productivity gains -- including Denmark, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, the countries where
productivity increases exceeded that of the United States -- did so primarily by reducing labor hours.
Like the United States, Canada and Korea had manufacturing output increases of about 5 percent.
Five countries -- Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands -- saw output fall in 1993. The largest
decline, 7-1/2 percent, occurred in Germany. The remaining economies experienced output growth of less
than 3 percent.
Canada, with a nearly 3 percent increase in hours worked, was the only country to record a
substantial increase in labor input. Hours fell in Japan and all of the European economies. While hours in
Norway declined only slightly, the other countries studied had declines greater than 3 percent. The sharpest
decreases occurred in Sweden (7 percent), Italy (8 percent), and Germany (9-1/2 percent).
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****AT THIS POINT, PRINTED NEWS RELEASE CONTAINS CHART 1: PERCENT CHANGE IN MANUFACTURING OUTPUT PER HOUR, 1993
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Hourly compensation and unit labor costs
Hourly compensation costs in manufacturing -- which include wages and salaries, supplements, and
employer payments for social security and other employer-financed benefit plans -- rose 3.6 percent in the
United States in 1993. Only 3 of the 10 foreign countries for which data are available had larger increases --
the United Kingdom, up about 5-1/2 percent, and Germany and Italy, both up more than 7 percent. At the
opposite end of the spectrum, hourly compensation costs rose only 1/2 of 1 percent in Canada and 1 percent
in Norway. In Sweden, employer social contributions were cut and hourly compensation costs fell 1-1/2
percent.
Since U.S. productivity growth exceeded the rise in hourly compensation costs, U.S. unit labor costs
fell about 1/2 of 1 percent from 1992 to 1993. Measured on a national currency basis, four other countries
also experienced declines in unit labor costs over the year -- Denmark, where unit labor costs fell 3 percent,
Sweden, where they fell nearly 10 percent, Canada, and Norway. In general, unit labor cost growth slowed
in 1993 relative to 1992. Among the 13 economies studied,1 only France had a higher unit labor cost growth
rate in 1993 than in 1992.
Unit labor costs in U.S. dollars
With the notable exception of Japan, the currencies of all the economies studied depreciated against
the U.S. dollar in 1993. While the Japanese yen rose 14 percent relative to the U.S. dollar, the Canadian
dollar fell more than 6 percent, and the European currencies depreciated 5-1/2 percent or more between
1992 and 1993. The currencies of Denmark, France, Germany, and the Netherlands depreciated between
5-1/2 and 7 percent, and the other European countries experienced much greater drops in the values of their
currencies. The British pound fell 15 percent relative to the dollar, the Italian lira dropped almost 22 percent,
and the Swedish krona declined 25 percent. The currencies of Korea and Taiwan depreciated about 2-1/2
percent and 5 percent, respectively.
In evaluating competitive changes in unit labor costs, it is important to take into account changes in
relative currency values. The strength of the yen caused Japanese unit labor costs, measured on a U.S. dollar
basis, to rise nearly 18 percent in 1993. The other economies studied, however, all experienced declines in
U.S. dollar-based unit labor costs which exceeded the U.S. drop. Germany, Korea, and Taiwan had unit
labor cost declines in the 1 to 2 percent range, only slightly larger than that of the United States, but the eight
remaining countries had decreases ranging from about 4 percent in France and the Netherlands to 21 percent
in Italy and over 32 percent in Sweden.
__________
1 As noted above, unit labor cost measures are compiled for Korea and Taiwan in addition to the 11
countries for which productivity and hourly compensation measures are computed.
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****AT THIS POINT, PRINTED NEWS RELEASE CONTAINS CHART 2: PERCENT CHANGE IN MANUFACTURING UNIT LABOR COSTS
(U.S. DOLLAR BASIS), 1993.
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****AT THIS POINT, THE PRINTED NEWS RELEASE CONTAINS CHART 3: U.S. MANUFACTURING UNIT LABOR COSTS RELATIVE TO
12 COMPETITORS, 19799-93.
Trade-weighted unit labor costs
The countries covered by the BLS comparative measures differ greatly in their relative importance to
U.S. trade in manufactured goods. Therefore, BLS constructs two summary measures: A "competitors"
index, which is the trade-weighted geometric average of the unit labor cost indexes for the other economies;
and a relative index, which is the ratio of the U.S. index to the "competitors" index. Chart 3 shows U.S.
relative unit labor cost indexes on both a national currency and U.S. dollar basis over the 1979-93 period.
Because 1993 data are not available for Belgium, it has been excluded from this analysis; however, Belgium
accounts for less than 3 percent of the total trade in manufactured goods between the 13 foreign economies
and the United States.
U.S. relative unit labor costs, expressed on a national currency basis (i.e., unadjusted for exchange
rate changes), fell gradually, with only minor interruptions, between 1979 and 1993. The overall decline
amounted to 11 percentage points. Adjusted for relative changes in currency exchange rates, however, the
pattern was quite different. The U.S. dollar appreciated by 42 percent on a trade-weighted basis between
1979 and 1985, and U.S. relative unit labor costs rose 41 percentage points. The value of the U.S. dollar fell
between 1985 and 1988, rose in 1989, continued its decline between 1989 and 1992, and then rebounded in
1993 against all currencies except the Japanese yen. U.S. relative unit labor costs as of 1993, measured on a
U.S. dollar basis, were down 56-1/2 percentage points over 1985 and 15-1/2 percentage points over 1979.
The U.S. relative unit labor cost index increased 1-1/2 percentage points between 1992 and 1993,
measured on a U.S. dollar basis. U.S. unit labor costs fell about 12 percentage points relative to Japan,
which has a weight of nearly 26 percent in the index, and rose 7-1/2 percentage points against the trade-
weighted average for the other 11 economies.
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Recent exchange rate changes
After having fallen toward the end of last year, the currencies of Europe appreciated gradually through
the first half of 1994, and in June all stood near their 1993 average levels. July, however, saw stronger rises in
the European currencies and, as of July 1994, the currencies of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, and
the Netherlands were up 5-7 percent over their 1993 averages. Unlike the European currencies, the
currencies of Korea and Taiwan did not fluctuate much in value over the first 7 months of 1994. They
remained at nearly the same levels as in 1993. By April, the Canadian dollar was down almost 7 percent
relative to its 1993 average, but it has since leveled off. The Japanese yen continued to appreciate
sharply -- its value in July was nearly 13 percent above its 1993 average level.
Note on the U.S. output measures
The historical real manufacturing output data for the United States are the 1987 fixed-price-weighted
measures prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce for 1977
through 1991. The 1991-92 and 1992-93 percent changes in manufacturing output are based on the trend
shown by the industrial production indexes published by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. Comparable
manufacturing output data currently are not available prior to 1977.
The U.S. real output measures normally constructed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis are based on fixed
price weights of a single year. Fixed-weighted real output series have several advantages, but, if there are
major changes in relative prices over the period covered, the change in real output becomes sensitive to the
choice of price weights. This issue is discussed in Robert P. Parker, "Gross Product by Industry, 1977-90,"
Survey of Current Business, May 1993. The article shows alternative measures of real output growth, using
"benchmark-years-weighted quantity index" numbers for total gross domestic product (GDP) and for
manufacturing for the years 1977-87. The 1977-87 growth rate for manufacturing output is 2.5 percent; the
growth rate based on the 1987 fixed-weighted measure is 1.7 percent. BLS is considering introducing
manufacturing output measures based on changing price weights for use in its productivity calculations.
Most of the foreign economies link fixed-weighted measures covering various periods, but some also produce
annual chain-weighted indexes. The output measures used in this article are fixed weighted, with the following
exception: The measures for Norway for 1987-92 are based on relative prices of the preceding year (the
1993 measure is currently based on 1991 prices).
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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures
Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-93
Average annual rates of change (1)
Country 1979-93 1979-85 1985-93 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
or area
Output per hour
United States 2.5 2.0 2.9 0.6 1.8 2.0 3.7 4.2
Canada 1.7 2.4 1.2 0.4 2.1 1.5 3.8 2.1
Japan 3.8 3.9 3.7 6.9 6.9 4.8 -0.6 -0.6
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium NA 6.1 NA 4.8 2.1 2.2 4.3 NA
Denmark 1.5 2.1 1.0 3.4 -0.1 -0.0 2.1 5.7
France 2.8 3.1 2.5 5.0 1.5 0.2 2.2 1.2
Germany (2) 1.9 2.1 1.8 3.3 4.3 3.0 -0.8 2.3
Italy 4.1 5.0 3.4 3.1 3.9 3.2 4.8 6.3
Netherlands 2.6 4.2 1.5 3.3 1.3 1.0 0.6 1.2
Norway 2.3 2.9 1.9 5.2 2.5 0.7 1.8 2.1
Sweden 3.2 3.0 3.4 3.2 1.7 1.2 7.2 9.2
United Kingdom 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.6 1.2 3.8 4.6 5.2
Continued on next page
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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures
Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-93--continued
Average annual rates of change (1)
Country 1979-93 1979-85 1985-93 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
or area
Output
United States 1.7 0.7 2.4 0.9 -0.4 -2.2 3.1 4.8
Canada 1.2 1.5 0.9 0.9 -3.3 -5.8 0.2 4.9
Japan 4.5 5.8 3.6 8.0 7.6 6.3 -1.8 -4.2
Korea 9.8 9.1 10.3 4.2 9.7 9.1 5.1 5.0
Taiwan 6.9 8.3 6.0 3.7 -0.2 6.6 3.5 2.8
Belgium NA 2.6 NA 6.4 3.6 -0.4 0.3 NA
Denmark 1.1 2.9 -0.2 1.2 -1.0 -1.2 1.2 0.6
France 0.3 -0.4 0.9 5.5 1.9 -1.6 -0.8 -3.2
Germany (2) 0.5 0.2 0.7 3.4 5.5 3.6 -1.5 -7.4
Italy 2.0 1.8 2.2 3.8 2.0 -0.2 0.2 -2.1
Netherlands 1.6 1.6 1.6 4.6 3.3 0.5 -0.7 -2.5
Norway 0.2 1.0 -0.3 -1.6 0.7 -2.1 1.8 1.7
Sweden 1.1 2.1 0.3 1.2 -0.7 -5.6 -0.8 1.7
United Kingdom 0.4 -1.2 1.5 4.5 -0.2 -5.3 -0.8 1.7
Total hours
United States -0.8 -1.2 -0.5 0.4 -2.2 -4.1 -0.6 0.5
Canada -0.6 -0.9 -0.3 0.5 -5.3 -7.2 -3.5 2.8
Japan 0.7 1.8 -0.1 1.1 0.6 1.5 -1.2 -3.6
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium NA -3.3 NA 1.6 1.5 -2.6 -3.8 NA
Denmark -0.4 0.8 -1.2 -2.2 -1.0 -1.1 -0.9 -4.8
France -2.4 -3.4 -1.6 0.5 0.4 -1.8 -2.9 -4.3
Germany (2) -1.4 -1.8 -1.1 0.1 1.1 0.6 -0.7 -9.4
Italy -2.0 -3.1 -1.2 0.7 -1.9 -3.3 -4.4 -7.9
Netherlands -1.0 -2.5 0.1 1.3 2.0 -0.5 -1.3 -3.6
Norway -2.1 -1.9 -2.2 -6.5 -1.8 -2.8 0.0 -0.4
Sweden -2.1 -0.9 -3.0 -2.0 -2.3 -6.7 -7.4 -6.8
United Kingdom -3.5 -5.0 -2.4 0.8 -1.4 -8.8 -5.2 -3.3
Continued on next page
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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures
Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-93--continued
Average annual rates of change (1)
Country 1979-93 1979-85 1985-93 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
or area
Employment
United States -1.1 -1.4 -0.8 0.4 -1.5 -3.5 -1.7 -0.3
Canada -0.7 -0.8 -0.7 1.2 -5.2 -7.1 -4.2 0.7
Japan 1.4 1.7 1.1 2.2 2.2 3.8 1.8 -1.1
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium NA -2.7 NA 2.1 0.3 -0.9 -3.8 NA
Denmark -0.1 1.0 -0.9 -1.0 0.2 -1.4 -1.2 -4.1
France -1.9 -2.3 -1.6 0.7 0.8 -1.5 -3.1 -4.0
Germany (2) -0.5 -1.1 -0.1 1.4 2.8 1.6 -1.8 -6.3
Italy -2.0 -2.9 -1.3 0.9 0.5 -2.2 -4.3 -5.4
Netherlands -0.8 -2.1 0.2 1.5 2.0 -0.3 -1.1 -3.6
Norway -2.0 -1.8 -2.2 -7.1 -1.8 -3.3 -1.0 -0.7
Sweden -2.6 -1.2 -3.6 -1.6 -3.4 -6.6 -9.2 -8.3
United Kingdom -3.2 -4.6 -2.1 1.0 -0.7 -7.1 -5.2 -2.6
Average hours
United States 0.2 0.2 0.3 -0.1 -0.7 -0.6 1.2 0.8
Canada 0.2 -0.1 0.3 -0.7 -0.1 -0.1 0.7 2.0
Japan -0.7 0.1 -1.2 -1.1 -1.6 -2.3 -3.0 -2.5
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium NA -0.6 NA -0.5 1.2 -1.7 -0.0 NA
Denmark -0.3 -0.3 -0.3 -1.2 -1.2 0.3 0.3 -0.8
France -0.5 -1.1 -0.0 -0.3 -0.4 -0.4 0.2 -0.3
Germany (2) -0.9 -0.7 -1.0 -1.2 -1.6 -1.0 1.1 -3.4
Italy 0.0 -0.1 0.1 -0.2 -2.4 -1.1 -0.1 -2.6
Netherlands -0.3 -0.4 -0.1 -0.2 0.0 -0.2 -0.2 -0.0
Norway -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 0.7 -0.1 0.5 1.0 0.3
Sweden 0.5 0.4 0.6 -0.3 1.2 -0.1 2.0 1.6
United Kingdom -0.4 -0.5 -0.3 -0.1 -0.8 -1.8 0.0 -0.7
Continued on next page
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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures
Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-93--continued
Average annual rates of change (1)
Country 1979-93 1979-85 1985-93 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
or area
Hourly compensation(3): National currency basis
United States 5.3 6.9 4.1 3.9 5.3 5.3 4.2 3.6
Canada 5.9 8.7 3.9 3.8 5.6 5.7 4.4 0.4
Japan 4.6 4.7 4.5 6.3 7.9 5.8 4.6 2.7
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium NA 7.8 NA 5.2 5.9 6.4 4.6 NA
Denmark 6.0 8.1 4.5 5.7 6.2 3.6 3.0 2.5
France 7.8 12.8 4.2 5.4 5.3 4.3 3.4 3.6
Germany (2) 5.6 5.9 5.4 4.8 7.1 6.6 4.7 7.2
Italy 11.3 16.7 7.4 9.9 11.2 10.6 7.1 7.3
Netherlands 3.7 4.8 2.9 0.5 2.6 4.8 5.7 2.9
Norway 7.7 10.0 6.0 4.4 5.6 4.7 2.8 1.0
Sweden 7.9 9.6 6.5 10.6 10.3 8.9 3.4 -1.5
United Kingdom 9.4 11.8 7.6 13.5 3.4 11.2 8.1 5.4
Unit labor costs: National currency basis
United States 2.7 4.9 1.1 3.3 3.5 3.3 0.5 -0.6
Canada 4.1 6.1 2.6 3.3 3.4 4.2 0.6 -1.6
Japan 0.8 0.7 0.8 -0.5 0.9 0.9 5.2 3.3
Korea 7.6 8.2 7.1 20.6 9.2 5.5 6.4 1.6
Taiwan 4.9 7.1 3.3 4.4 7.0 1.6 4.3 3.0
Belgium NA 1.6 NA 0.4 3.7 4.1 0.4 NA
Denmark 4.5 5.9 3.4 2.2 6.3 3.7 0.9 -3.0
France 4.9 9.4 1.6 0.4 3.7 4.1 1.2 2.4
Germany (2) 3.6 3.8 3.5 1.4 2.6 3.6 5.5 4.8
Italy 6.9 11.1 3.9 6.6 7.0 7.1 2.2 0.9
Netherlands 1.1 0.6 1.4 -2.7 1.3 3.8 5.1 1.7
Norway 5.2 6.9 4.0 -0.8 3.0 3.9 1.0 -1.1
Sweden 4.5 6.4 3.0 7.2 8.5 7.6 -3.6 -9.8
United Kingdom 5.1 7.4 3.4 9.5 2.1 7.0 3.3 0.2
Continued on next page
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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures
Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-93--continued
Average annual rates of change (1)
Country 1979-93 1979-85 1985-93 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
or area
Unit labor costs: U.S. dollar basis
United States 2.7 4.9 1.1 3.3 3.5 3.3 0.5 -0.6
Canada 3.4 3.4 3.4 7.4 4.9 6.0 -4.6 -7.9
Japan 5.8 -0.8 10.9 -7.7 -3.9 8.7 11.7 17.9
Korea 3.8 -1.9 8.2 31.3 3.6 1.8 -0.1 -1.1
Taiwan 7.3 5.3 8.7 13.1 5.0 2.2 10.9 -1.9
Belgium NA -9.7 NA -6.2 22.3 1.7 6.8 NA
Denmark 2.9 -5.8 10.0 -5.9 25.8 0.2 7.0 -9.7
France 2.8 -3.4 7.7 -6.2 21.5 0.4 7.9 -4.4
Germany (2) 4.4 -4.1 11.2 -5.2 19.4 0.8 12.2 -1.1
Italy 2.1 -3.3 6.4 1.2 22.5 3.4 2.9 -21.0
Netherlands 1.6 -7.5 9.0 -9.3 18.1 1.0 11.9 -3.8
Norway 2.7 -2.1 6.5 -6.4 13.9 0.1 5.5 -13.4
Sweden 0.1 -5.2 4.3 1.9 18.2 5.3 0.2 -32.6
United Kingdom 2.5 -1.0 5.3 0.7 11.2 6.0 3.3 -14.8
Exchange rates (4)
United States 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Canada -0.7 -2.5 0.7 3.9 1.5 1.8 -5.2 -6.3
Japan 4.9 -1.5 10.0 -7.2 -4.8 7.7 6.2 14.1
Korea -3.5 -9.3 1.0 8.9 -5.1 -3.5 -6.1 -2.7
Taiwan 2.2 -1.7 5.3 8.3 -1.9 0.6 6.4 -4.8
Belgium -1.2 -11.1 7.0 -6.7 17.9 -2.3 6.4 -7.0
Denmark -1.5 -11.0 6.3 -7.9 18.3 -3.3 6.1 -6.9
France -2.0 -11.7 5.9 -6.6 17.1 -3.5 6.7 -6.6
Germany (2) 0.7 -7.6 7.5 -6.6 16.3 -2.7 6.4 -5.6
Italy -4.5 -12.9 2.4 -5.1 14.5 -3.5 0.7 -21.7
Netherlands 0.5 -8.0 7.5 -6.8 16.5 -2.7 6.4 -5.4
Norway -2.4 -8.4 2.4 -5.6 10.5 -3.7 4.5 -12.5
Sweden -4.2 -11.0 1.2 -4.9 9.0 -2.1 3.9 -25.3
United Kingdom -2.4 -7.9 1.8 -8.0 8.9 -0.9 -0.1 -15.0
(1) Rates of change based on the compound (3) Adjusted to include employment taxes
rate method. that are not compensation to employees
but are labor costs to employers.
(2) Data relate to the former West Germany.
(4) Value of foreign currency relative to
NA = Not available. the U.S. dollar.
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TECHNICAL NOTE
The Bureau of Labor Statistics constructs trend indexes of manufacturing labor productivity (output per hour),
hourly compensation costs, and unit labor costs from three basic aggregative measures---output, total labor
hours, and total compensation. The hours and compensation measures refer to all employed persons,
including self-employed persons and unpaid family workers, in the United States and Canada and to all
employees (wage and salary earners) in the other economies. Hours refer to hours worked in all countries.
(The figures for Canada in this release are the official measures prepared by Statistics Canada.)
The historical data have been revised to reflect the most recent series available and may differ from previously
published figures.
In general, the measures relate to total manufacturing as defined by the International Standard Industrial
Classification (ISIC). However, the measures for France and Italy (beginning 1970) refer to mining and
manufacturing less energy-related products; the measures for Denmark include mining and exclude
manufacturing handicrafts from 1960 to 1966; and the measures for the Netherlands exclude petroleum
refining and include coal mining from 1969 to 1976.
Output: In general, the output measures are value added in manufacturing (gross product originating) in
constant prices from the national accounts of each country. However, output for Japan prior to 1970 and the
Netherlands from 1969 to 1977 are indexes of industrial production. The national accounts measures for the
United Kingdom are essentially identical to their indexes of industrial production. While methods of deriving
national accounts measures differ substantially from country to country, the use of different procedures does
not, in itself, connote lack of comparability--rather, it reflects differences among countries in the availability
and reliability of underlying data series.
Labor Input: The total hours measures are developed from statistics of manufacturing employment and
average hours. The series used for France (from 1970 forward), Norway, and Sweden are official series
published with the national accounts. Where official total hours series are not available, the measures are
developed by BLS using employment figures published with the national accounts, or other comprehensive
employment series, and estimates of annual hours worked.
For the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, the Bureau publishes only measures of unit labor costs and the data
on output and total compensation that underlie the computations of unit labor costs. Total hours, and
consequently productivity, are not computed for Korea and Taiwan because BLS has not yet developed
adequate labor input series.
Compensation (labor cost): The compensation measures are from the national accounts except those for
Belgium, which are developed by the Bureau using statistics on employment, average hours, and hourly
compensation. Compensation includes all payments in cash or kind made directly to employees plus
employer expenditures for legally required insurance programs and contractual and private benefit plans. In
addition, for some countries, compensation is increased to account for other significant taxes on payroll or
employment (or reduced to reflect subsidies). Self-employed workers are included in the U.S. and Canadian
figures by assuming that their hourly compensation is equal to the average for wage and salary employees.
-14-
Current Indicators: For most countries, the measures for recent years may be based on current indicators of
manufacturing output (such as industrial production indexes), employment, average hours, and hourly
compensation until national accounts and other statistics used for the long-term measures become available.
Trade-Weighted Measures: The economies covered by the BLS measures differ greatly in their relative
importance to U.S. trade in manufactured products. Therefore, the Bureau constructs trade-weighted
measures that take account of these differences. The trade weights used were derived by rescaling a series
covering 21 economies that was developed by the International Monetary Fund. These weights are based on
disaggregated 1980 trade data for manufactured goods, and take account of both bilateral trade and the
relative importance of "third country" markets. The following are rescaled weights for the 12 economies for
which the 1993 unit labor cost measures are available:
Country Weight Country Weight Country Weight
Canada 19.43 Germany 14.70 Sweden 2.10
Japan 25.63 Italy 5.66 United Kingdom 12.27
Denmark 0.66 Norway 0.59 Korea 3.31
France 8.41 Netherlands 2.77 Taiwan 4.48
The weights given to Korea and Taiwan would be larger based on more current weights.
Level Comparisons: The BLS measures are limited to trend comparisons. BLS does not prepare level
comparisons of manufacturing productivity and unit labor costs because of data limitations and technical
problems in comparing the levels of manufacturing output among countries. Each country measures
manufacturing output in its own currency units. To compare outputs among countries, a common unit of
measure--such as the U.S. dollar--is needed. Market exchange rates are not suitable as a basis for
comparing output levels. What are needed are purchasing-power-parity (PPP) exchange rates, that is, the
number of foreign currency units required to buy goods and services equivalent to what can be bought with
one unit of U.S. currency.
PPP exchange rates are available for total gross domestic product (GDP). However, these PPP exchange
rates are derived from the expenditure side of the national accounts (consumer, business, and government final
expenditures for goods and services) and not from the output side of the accounts (gross product originating
by industry, or value added). Therefore, they do not provide PPP exchange rates by industry. The PPP
exchange rates for total GDP are not suitable for each component industry, such as manufacturing.
Table 1. Output per hour in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 35.5 7.6 NA 24.5 20.0 18.6 16.6 16.7 34.3 25.8 41.1
1955 NA 43.6 12.7 NA 26.7 24.5 26.6 23.2 20.9 38.0 28.3 44.3
1960 NA 51.6 18.6 24.2 32.4 31.2 38.6 29.1 26.5 47.8 36.2 50.3
1961 NA 54.4 21.1 24.5 34.3 33.0 40.3 31.4 27.9 49.3 37.9 50.3
1962 NA 58.2 22.0 25.8 36.0 35.0 43.1 34.8 28.8 49.3 40.7 51.5
1963 NA 60.3 23.8 26.8 37.2 36.7 44.8 35.7 29.8 51.8 43.1 54.2
1964 NA 63.2 27.0 28.5 40.2 39.4 48.5 36.1 32.4 54.7 46.6 57.8
1965 NA 66.1 28.1 29.9 42.2 42.1 51.3 40.2 34.5 58.0 50.0 59.5
1966 NA 67.6 30.9 32.0 44.3 45.4 53.4 43.7 36.7 60.4 52.0 61.4
1967 NA 68.9 35.5 33.8 47.6 48.2 56.8 45.9 39.3 62.5 56.4 64.3
1968 NA 74.0 40.0 36.8 51.9 53.3 61.3 49.5 43.9 66.4 61.5 68.9
1969 NA 77.9 46.2 40.2 54.0 56.4 65.2 51.3 48.0 72.6 66.2 70.6
1970 NA 76.9 52.0 44.3 57.2 59.6 67.1 54.6 52.9 74.5 69.0 72.1
1971 NA 82.4 54.8 47.0 61.1 62.8 69.6 55.6 55.7 77.2 71.9 75.6
1972 NA 86.4 60.5 52.3 66.0 65.5 73.8 60.3 60.6 81.4 75.5 80.6
1973 NA 91.9 66.1 57.8 72.7 69.9 78.4 65.2 67.3 86.4 81.1 86.2
1974 NA 93.3 66.9 61.1 75.1 71.3 81.1 69.8 72.9 90.0 84.4 87.4
1975 NA 90.1 69.6 63.5 82.6 73.8 84.5 67.4 71.3 88.6 85.6 86.0
1976 NA 96.4 74.6 70.0 85.7 78.1 90.5 76.5 79.3 91.4 86.9 89.6
1977 96.2 101.8 77.9 73.4 87.3 82.6 93.1 78.2 82.7 90.8 85.5 90.2
1978 96.3 102.9 82.3 77.9 88.5 86.2 96.3 83.3 88.1 92.2 87.9 91.2
1979 94.9 103.8 88.8 82.2 92.9 90.1 100.4 91.1 92.9 97.7 94.8 91.6
1980 92.9 99.9 92.1 87.5 98.0 90.5 98.5 95.5 93.9 96.3 96.3 91.0
1981 96.2 104.8 95.5 94.2 99.6 93.2 100.4 97.8 97.5 96.5 96.3 95.1
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 102.2 107.3 101.9 110.9 104.9 102.6 105.5 105.2 106.6 105.2 106.9 107.3
1984 103.5 116.3 106.1 115.8 104.3 104.3 109.2 115.7 115.0 112.6 112.0 112.4
1985 106.7 119.8 112.0 117.2 105.0 108.2 113.4 122.3 118.7 116.0 113.2 116.4
1986 109.5 117.9 110.3 118.2 98.9 110.0 114.1 123.7 120.1 114.6 115.2 120.6
1987 116.6 119.0 119.5 120.1 98.4 112.1 112.3 127.2 120.7 120.4 117.6 126.9
1988 119.2 119.5 126.5 125.2 102.1 119.7 116.4 130.0 124.4 119.7 119.0 133.5
1989 119.9 120.0 135.2 131.2 105.6 125.7 120.2 134.0 128.5 125.9 122.8 138.4
1990 122.1 122.6 144.5 133.9 105.5 127.6 125.4 139.3 130.1 129.1 124.9 140.1
1991 124.5 124.4 151.4 136.9 105.5 127.8 129.2 143.8 131.4 130.1 126.5 145.5
1992 129.1 129.1 150.5 142.7 107.7 130.7 128.2 150.8 132.2 132.4 135.5 152.2
1993 134.5 131.8 149.6 NA 113.9 132.3 131.1 160.3 133.8 135.2 147.9 160.1
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 2. Output per employed person in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 39.6 8.1 NA 33.1 24.0 25.6 18.9 21.0 43.0 35.8 48.2
1955 NA 46.8 14.3 NA 35.4 29.2 36.6 27.0 26.3 47.9 39.0 52.6
1960 NA 55.1 21.8 30.4 40.8 37.4 47.8 34.2 33.8 57.8 47.2 58.5
1961 NA 57.8 24.3 30.7 41.9 39.7 49.0 36.6 34.1 58.8 48.9 57.8
1962 NA 62.5 24.7 32.4 44.4 42.0 51.0 39.3 34.9 58.6 52.2 58.5
1963 NA 65.0 26.5 33.6 45.1 44.1 52.3 40.5 36.0 61.3 54.6 61.5
1964 NA 68.4 29.8 35.6 49.2 47.1 56.6 40.9 38.8 65.4 58.6 66.1
1965 NA 71.6 30.5 36.8 51.5 49.8 59.6 44.1 41.1 67.4 62.2 67.1
1966 NA 72.7 33.8 39.0 53.1 54.0 61.2 48.4 43.5 70.4 64.8 68.1
1967 NA 73.8 38.8 40.8 56.3 56.7 63.3 51.5 46.4 72.3 69.0 70.7
1968 NA 79.3 43.6 44.4 60.1 60.9 69.2 55.6 50.9 74.9 73.8 76.4
1969 NA 83.2 49.6 47.9 61.7 66.0 73.8 57.2 54.9 80.0 78.0 78.3
1970 NA 81.5 55.2 51.5 63.3 68.9 75.5 59.8 59.3 81.5 79.6 78.7
1971 NA 86.8 57.1 53.7 67.3 72.1 76.5 59.2 61.9 83.7 82.7 80.6
1972 NA 91.0 62.8 58.5 71.2 74.5 80.4 63.8 66.4 87.4 84.6 85.1
1973 NA 96.4 68.1 63.1 74.2 78.3 84.8 69.8 72.3 92.6 89.1 92.3
1974 NA 97.3 65.8 64.9 78.2 78.9 85.9 72.1 75.9 95.6 91.8 90.5
1975 NA 92.9 66.7 63.9 83.3 79.2 87.3 68.4 72.9 94.4 91.2 88.8
1976 NA 99.3 73.8 71.7 86.8 84.2 96.1 77.7 80.9 95.0 91.5 93.3
1977 99.8 105.1 77.3 74.9 87.6 88.2 97.3 79.0 84.0 92.7 89.4 94.5
1978 99.9 106.5 82.2 79.3 87.8 91.3 99.2 83.9 88.6 93.2 89.4 95.2
1979 97.9 106.6 89.6 83.6 92.1 95.3 103.0 91.1 92.4 97.5 94.9 95.2
1980 94.6 102.2 92.9 87.7 97.8 95.8 99.8 95.7 93.9 96.7 95.3 91.5
1981 97.9 105.9 95.7 92.2 98.2 97.4 100.5 98.0 97.0 96.7 95.8 94.1
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 105.0 108.7 102.5 108.1 106.3 102.0 105.2 105.2 106.5 105.8 108.2 107.6
1984 107.9 119.1 108.1 112.3 105.4 103.8 108.8 115.7 114.1 112.5 115.6 113.7
1985 111.3 122.6 113.3 115.2 102.6 107.1 111.3 121.2 115.2 115.1 116.0 117.7
1986 114.1 120.6 110.8 116.3 98.8 109.0 111.1 125.7 116.4 113.4 117.4 121.7
1987 122.1 122.6 120.6 119.3 96.1 111.7 108.8 131.6 116.6 115.7 121.4 129.0
1988 126.3 123.5 129.0 126.3 99.8 119.8 112.5 139.3 120.0 115.5 122.6 136.4
1989 126.9 123.1 136.3 131.7 101.9 125.4 114.8 143.3 123.7 122.2 126.1 141.2
1990 128.3 125.6 143.5 136.1 100.6 126.8 117.8 145.3 125.3 125.3 129.7 141.8
1991 130.0 127.3 146.9 136.8 100.9 126.6 120.1 148.3 126.3 126.8 131.2 144.6
1992 136.4 133.2 141.6 142.6 103.4 129.7 120.4 155.3 126.8 130.4 143.4 151.3
1993 143.3 138.7 137.2 NA 108.4 130.8 119.0 160.8 128.3 133.5 159.0 158.1
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 3. Output in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 29.1 3.1 NA 29.8 20.9 17.8 12.3 22.6 37.9 34.8 61.0
1955 NA 37.7 6.9 NA 32.8 26.0 33.8 19.0 30.9 46.4 40.3 71.7
1960 NA 44.1 15.1 37.8 45.4 35.1 51.0 28.0 42.7 56.0 51.8 82.9
1961 NA 45.9 18.1 39.5 47.9 37.7 54.0 30.8 44.2 58.3 55.3 83.0
1962 NA 51.1 19.7 42.6 52.0 40.5 56.7 34.1 46.3 58.8 59.5 83.2
1963 NA 54.5 21.9 44.6 52.7 43.6 57.8 36.3 48.3 62.3 62.5 86.1
1964 NA 60.0 25.5 48.6 58.9 47.6 62.8 36.8 52.9 66.8 68.0 94.0
1965 NA 66.0 26.5 50.2 62.7 50.0 67.5 38.7 56.6 70.3 72.8 96.7
1966 NA 70.3 30.0 53.1 64.0 54.6 68.7 42.3 59.6 74.5 74.9 98.4
1967 NA 71.8 36.0 53.8 64.7 57.2 67.1 46.5 62.0 76.9 77.3 99.1
1968 NA 76.6 41.6 57.5 69.7 60.4 74.1 50.8 67.8 78.8 81.3 106.0
1969 NA 82.0 48.4 64.3 73.5 67.6 82.8 54.1 74.4 84.5 87.7 110.1
1970 NA 78.5 55.1 70.9 75.7 72.7 87.0 58.4 80.3 88.4 91.1 110.5
1971 NA 83.5 57.8 74.1 77.2 77.2 87.9 59.3 82.3 91.5 91.7 109.3
1972 NA 90.3 63.8 79.6 83.9 80.8 90.6 62.7 85.3 95.9 92.2 111.6
1973 NA 100.0 71.8 86.9 88.5 87.0 96.4 70.7 91.2 101.3 98.7 121.9
1974 NA 103.0 69.7 90.4 89.9 88.7 95.4 75.6 95.2 106.4 104.1 120.4
1975 NA 96.1 67.1 83.6 87.7 86.9 91.0 71.1 88.3 104.1 104.4 112.1
1976 NA 103.1 73.6 89.9 91.9 92.0 98.0 81.6 94.2 104.3 104.4 114.2
1977 104.3 106.9 76.4 90.2 92.3 96.2 99.8 84.6 95.2 102.2 98.5 116.4
1978 108.7 111.7 79.8 91.5 92.0 98.4 101.7 88.8 97.9 99.8 95.8 117.0
1979 109.3 115.9 86.5 93.9 97.3 101.3 106.9 97.9 101.0 102.7 102.0 116.8
1980 102.0 110.7 91.5 96.4 101.7 100.6 104.7 103.1 101.5 101.7 102.4 106.7
1981 105.0 114.8 95.7 95.8 98.4 99.0 103.6 101.1 101.5 100.7 99.7 100.1
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 103.2 106.5 104.3 105.6 106.7 99.9 101.5 100.8 101.9 99.3 105.8 102.1
1984 111.3 120.2 113.2 108.4 111.7 98.7 104.6 105.4 107.9 105.0 113.6 105.9
1985 114.0 127.0 121.2 109.6 115.3 99.1 108.4 108.9 111.1 108.8 115.7 108.9
1986 115.2 127.9 117.9 108.9 115.3 99.1 110.1 111.5 113.8 108.8 117.1 110.3
1987 123.5 134.1 126.5 109.0 110.6 98.9 108.1 116.3 115.4 110.8 120.0 115.5
1988 130.0 140.9 138.2 114.6 112.3 104.6 111.5 125.0 119.7 105.5 123.7 123.6
1989 131.2 142.1 149.3 121.9 113.6 110.3 115.4 129.7 125.2 103.8 125.1 129.1
1990 130.6 137.5 160.6 126.4 112.4 112.4 121.7 132.3 129.3 104.5 124.3 128.9
1991 127.8 129.5 170.8 125.9 111.1 110.6 126.0 132.1 129.9 102.3 117.4 122.0
1992 131.7 129.8 167.7 126.3 112.5 109.8 124.1 132.4 129.0 104.2 116.5 121.0
1993 138.0 136.1 160.7 NA 113.2 106.3 114.9 129.6 125.8 105.9 118.5 123.1
NA: Not Available
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 4. Total hours in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 87.4 82.0 40.7 NA 121.8 104.4 95.4 74.0 135.2 110.6 134.9 148.4
1955 96.6 86.5 54.3 NA 122.9 106.2 126.9 81.9 147.9 122.0 142.5 161.6
1960 94.1 85.5 81.2 156.2 140.0 112.5 131.9 96.2 160.9 117.3 143.3 164.9
1961 91.6 84.3 86.0 161.0 139.7 114.3 134.1 98.2 158.0 118.3 146.0 164.9
1962 95.4 87.9 89.4 165.0 144.3 115.7 131.6 98.1 160.9 119.4 146.4 161.7
1963 96.3 90.4 92.3 166.4 141.6 118.8 128.9 101.7 162.0 120.4 145.1 159.0
1964 98.4 95.0 94.6 170.7 146.3 120.7 129.5 102.0 163.0 122.1 145.9 162.8
1965 104.1 99.8 94.3 167.6 148.6 118.6 131.7 96.3 163.9 121.3 145.6 162.6
1966 110.8 103.9 97.1 166.1 144.4 120.1 128.6 96.8 162.5 123.4 143.9 160.2
1967 110.2 104.2 101.5 158.9 136.1 118.6 118.1 101.4 157.8 122.9 137.1 154.0
1968 111.8 103.6 104.1 156.4 134.3 113.1 120.9 102.7 154.6 118.5 132.1 153.8
1969 113.1 105.3 104.8 160.0 136.1 120.0 126.9 105.5 154.9 116.4 132.4 155.9
1970 106.5 102.1 105.9 159.9 132.3 122.0 129.7 107.0 152.0 118.6 131.9 153.3
1971 102.6 101.4 105.6 157.6 126.5 122.9 126.2 106.8 147.9 118.6 127.5 144.6
1972 107.2 104.5 105.4 152.1 127.0 123.5 122.8 104.0 140.7 117.8 122.1 138.5
1973 112.6 108.8 108.6 150.3 121.8 124.5 122.9 108.3 135.6 117.3 121.8 141.4
1974 110.2 110.3 104.1 148.0 119.7 124.3 117.6 108.4 130.6 118.3 123.3 137.8
1975 99.3 106.6 96.4 131.6 106.2 117.7 107.7 105.6 123.8 117.4 121.9 130.4
1976 104.0 106.9 98.7 128.5 107.3 117.8 108.3 106.7 118.8 114.1 120.1 127.5
1977 108.4 105.0 98.2 122.9 105.8 116.5 107.2 108.2 115.1 112.6 115.2 129.0
1978 112.9 108.6 97.0 117.4 104.0 114.2 105.6 106.6 111.1 108.3 109.0 128.3
1979 115.1 111.6 97.4 114.3 104.7 112.4 106.5 107.4 108.7 105.1 107.6 127.5
1980 109.8 110.8 99.3 110.1 103.7 111.2 106.3 108.0 108.1 105.5 106.3 117.3
1981 109.2 109.6 100.2 101.7 98.8 106.2 103.1 103.4 104.1 104.3 103.5 105.3
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 101.0 99.2 102.4 95.2 101.7 97.4 96.2 95.8 95.6 94.3 99.0 95.1
1984 107.6 103.3 106.6 93.6 107.1 94.6 95.8 91.1 93.8 93.2 101.4 94.2
1985 106.8 106.0 108.2 93.5 109.8 91.5 95.6 89.0 93.6 93.8 102.2 93.5
1986 105.2 108.5 106.9 92.2 116.6 90.0 96.5 90.1 94.8 94.9 101.7 91.5
1987 106.0 112.7 105.8 90.7 112.4 88.3 96.2 91.4 95.6 92.1 102.1 91.0
1988 109.0 117.9 109.3 91.5 110.0 87.4 95.8 96.1 96.2 88.1 103.9 92.6
1989 109.4 118.4 110.4 93.0 107.6 87.8 95.9 96.8 97.4 82.5 101.8 93.3
1990 107.0 112.2 111.2 94.4 106.6 88.1 97.0 95.0 99.4 80.9 99.5 92.0
1991 102.6 104.1 112.8 92.0 105.3 86.5 97.6 91.8 98.9 78.6 92.8 83.9
1992 102.0 100.5 111.4 88.5 104.4 84.0 96.9 87.8 97.6 78.7 85.9 79.5
1993 102.6 103.3 107.4 NA 99.4 80.4 87.7 80.8 94.0 78.4 80.1 76.9
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 5. Employment in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 81.4 73.5 37.9 NA 90.2 87.2 69.5 65.1 107.6 88.0 97.3 126.6
1955 89.8 80.5 48.2 NA 92.7 89.1 92.4 70.3 117.4 96.9 103.5 136.1
1960 89.3 80.1 69.2 124.3 111.3 94.0 106.6 81.7 126.4 96.9 109.9 141.7
1961 86.9 79.4 74.7 128.4 114.4 95.0 110.3 84.3 129.5 99.2 113.1 143.7
1962 89.6 81.8 79.5 131.4 117.2 96.3 111.2 86.9 132.9 100.4 114.1 142.3
1963 90.2 83.8 82.8 132.6 116.8 98.9 110.6 89.7 134.2 101.6 114.5 140.1
1964 91.5 87.7 85.5 136.4 119.7 101.1 111.0 90.0 136.3 102.1 116.2 142.2
1965 95.8 92.2 86.8 136.3 121.8 100.3 113.4 87.9 137.5 104.2 116.9 144.1
1966 101.7 96.6 88.9 136.1 120.6 101.0 112.3 87.4 137.1 105.8 115.6 144.5
1967 103.0 97.4 92.7 131.9 114.9 100.8 106.0 90.2 133.6 106.3 111.9 140.0
1968 104.6 96.6 95.4 129.7 116.0 99.2 107.0 91.4 133.3 105.1 110.1 138.7
1969 106.7 98.6 97.6 134.1 119.1 102.4 112.1 94.5 135.5 105.7 112.3 140.6
1970 102.6 96.3 99.9 137.7 119.6 105.4 115.2 97.6 135.4 108.5 114.4 140.3
1971 98.6 96.2 101.2 137.8 114.7 107.1 114.8 100.2 133.0 109.4 110.8 135.6
1972 101.3 99.2 101.6 136.0 117.7 108.6 112.7 98.3 128.4 109.7 109.0 131.2
1973 106.6 103.7 105.5 137.8 119.3 111.1 113.6 101.2 126.2 109.5 110.8 132.1
1974 106.2 105.8 105.9 139.3 115.0 112.5 111.0 104.9 125.4 111.3 113.4 133.0
1975 97.1 103.4 100.6 130.8 105.3 109.8 104.2 104.0 121.1 110.3 114.4 126.3
1976 100.7 103.9 99.8 125.5 105.9 109.2 102.0 105.1 116.4 109.8 114.2 122.4
1977 104.5 101.7 98.9 120.5 105.3 109.0 102.6 107.1 113.3 110.2 110.2 123.1
1978 108.8 105.0 97.2 115.4 104.8 107.8 102.5 105.8 110.5 107.1 107.2 122.9
1979 111.7 108.7 96.6 112.3 105.6 106.2 103.8 107.4 109.3 105.3 107.5 122.6
1980 107.8 108.4 98.5 109.9 103.9 105.0 104.9 107.8 108.1 105.2 107.4 116.7
1981 107.2 108.4 100.0 103.9 100.2 101.6 103.0 103.2 104.7 104.1 104.0 106.4
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 98.3 98.0 101.8 97.6 100.4 97.9 96.6 95.8 95.7 93.8 97.8 94.9
1984 103.1 100.9 104.7 96.5 106.0 95.1 96.1 91.1 94.5 93.3 98.3 93.2
1985 102.4 103.6 106.9 95.1 112.4 92.5 97.4 89.8 96.5 94.5 99.7 92.5
1986 100.9 106.1 106.4 93.7 116.6 90.8 99.1 88.7 97.8 95.9 99.7 90.7
1987 101.1 109.3 104.9 91.4 115.1 88.5 99.3 88.4 98.9 95.8 98.8 89.5
1988 102.9 114.1 107.2 90.7 112.6 87.3 99.1 89.8 99.7 91.4 100.9 90.6
1989 103.4 115.4 109.5 92.6 111.5 87.9 100.5 90.5 101.2 84.9 99.2 91.5
1990 101.9 109.5 112.0 92.9 111.7 88.7 103.3 91.0 103.2 83.4 95.8 90.9
1991 98.3 101.7 116.2 92.0 110.1 87.4 104.9 89.0 102.9 80.7 89.5 84.4
1992 96.6 97.4 118.4 88.6 108.8 84.6 103.1 85.2 101.7 79.9 81.2 80.0
1993 96.3 98.2 117.1 NA 104.4 81.3 96.6 80.6 98.0 79.4 74.5 77.9
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 6. Average annual hours in manufacturing, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 107.4 111.6 107.4 NA 135.1 119.8 137.3 113.6 125.7 125.7 138.7 117.3
1955 107.5 107.5 112.6 NA 132.6 119.1 137.4 116.5 126.0 126.0 137.7 118.8
1960 105.3 106.8 117.3 125.6 125.9 119.8 123.8 117.7 127.2 121.1 130.3 116.3
1961 105.5 106.2 115.2 125.3 122.2 120.3 121.6 116.5 122.0 119.2 129.1 114.8
1962 106.5 107.4 112.5 125.6 123.1 120.0 118.3 112.8 121.1 118.8 128.2 113.6
1963 106.8 107.8 111.4 125.5 121.2 120.2 116.5 113.4 120.7 118.5 126.7 113.5
1964 107.5 108.3 110.7 125.1 122.2 119.4 116.6 113.4 119.6 119.6 125.6 114.4
1965 108.6 108.3 108.6 123.0 122.0 118.3 116.2 109.6 119.2 116.3 124.5 112.8
1966 109.0 107.5 109.3 122.0 119.8 118.9 114.6 110.8 118.6 116.7 124.5 110.9
1967 107.0 107.0 109.4 120.5 118.4 117.6 111.4 112.4 118.0 115.7 122.5 110.0
1968 106.8 107.2 109.1 120.5 115.7 114.1 112.9 112.4 116.0 112.8 120.0 110.9
1969 106.0 106.7 107.4 119.3 114.3 117.2 113.2 111.6 114.3 110.2 117.9 110.9
1970 103.8 106.0 106.1 116.2 110.7 115.7 112.5 109.6 112.2 109.3 115.3 109.2
1971 104.1 105.4 104.3 114.4 110.3 114.8 110.0 106.6 111.2 108.4 115.1 106.6
1972 105.8 105.4 103.8 111.8 107.9 113.7 108.9 105.8 109.6 107.3 112.0 105.6
1973 105.7 104.9 103.0 109.1 102.1 112.0 108.2 107.1 107.5 107.2 109.9 107.1
1974 103.7 104.2 98.4 106.3 104.1 110.5 105.9 103.3 104.1 106.3 108.7 103.6
1975 102.2 103.1 95.8 100.6 100.8 107.3 103.4 101.5 102.2 106.5 106.5 103.2
1976 103.3 102.9 98.9 102.4 101.3 107.8 106.2 101.5 102.0 103.9 105.2 104.1
1977 103.7 103.2 99.2 102.0 100.4 106.8 104.5 101.0 101.6 102.1 104.5 104.8
1978 103.7 103.5 99.8 101.7 99.2 106.0 103.0 100.8 100.6 101.1 101.7 104.4
1979 103.1 102.7 100.9 101.8 99.1 105.8 102.6 100.0 99.4 99.8 100.1 104.0
1980 101.8 102.3 100.8 100.2 99.8 105.8 101.4 100.3 100.0 100.4 99.0 100.5
1981 101.9 101.1 100.2 97.9 98.6 104.5 100.1 100.3 99.5 100.1 99.5 99.0
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 102.7 101.3 100.6 97.5 101.4 99.4 99.7 100.0 99.9 100.5 101.2 100.3
1984 104.3 102.4 101.8 96.9 101.1 99.5 99.7 100.0 99.2 99.9 103.2 101.1
1985 104.3 102.4 101.2 98.3 97.7 98.9 98.1 99.1 97.0 99.3 102.5 101.1
1986 104.2 102.3 100.4 98.4 100.0 99.1 97.4 101.6 96.9 99.0 101.9 100.9
1987 104.8 103.1 100.9 99.3 97.7 99.7 96.9 103.5 96.6 96.1 103.2 101.6
1988 105.9 103.3 102.0 100.9 97.7 100.1 96.7 107.1 96.5 96.4 103.0 102.2
1989 105.8 102.6 100.8 100.4 96.5 99.8 95.5 106.9 96.3 97.1 102.7 102.0
1990 105.1 102.5 99.3 101.6 95.4 99.4 93.9 104.3 96.3 97.0 103.8 101.3
1991 104.4 102.4 97.0 99.9 95.6 99.0 93.0 103.1 96.1 97.5 103.7 99.4
1992 105.7 103.1 94.1 99.9 96.0 99.2 94.0 103.0 95.9 98.5 105.8 99.4
1993 106.5 105.2 91.8 NA 95.2 98.9 90.8 100.3 95.9 98.7 107.4 98.7
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 7. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France* Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 NA 9.0 2.7 NA 4.2 2.8 5.6 2.1 4.3 4.6 4.2 3.7
1955 NA 12.7 4.8 NA 5.7 5.0 8.3 3.0 6.3 7.0 6.7 5.3
1960 NA 16.4 6.6 9.1 7.7 7.5 13.5 3.9 8.9 9.9 9.3 7.1
1961 NA 16.9 7.6 9.7 8.7 8.3 15.1 4.4 10.1 10.8 10.2 7.6
1962 NA 17.4 8.7 10.4 9.5 9.2 17.1 5.1 10.8 11.8 11.4 8.0
1963 NA 18.1 9.7 11.5 10.3 10.0 18.3 6.1 11.9 12.6 12.6 8.3
1964 NA 18.9 11.0 13.0 11.2 10.8 19.8 6.5 13.8 13.5 13.7 8.9
1965 NA 19.9 12.3 14.4 12.4 11.8 21.8 6.9 15.5 14.9 15.1 9.7
1966 NA 21.5 13.6 15.9 14.1 12.4 23.6 7.4 17.3 16.3 16.6 10.5
1967 NA 22.8 15.2 17.4 15.8 13.4 24.9 8.2 19.2 18.2 18.4 10.9
1968 NA 24.6 17.7 18.6 17.4 15.2 26.8 8.7 21.4 20.1 20.0 11.6
1969 NA 26.6 21.0 20.3 19.5 16.1 29.3 9.6 24.2 22.1 21.7 12.7
1970 NA 28.7 25.0 23.2 22.3 18.1 34.5 11.6 27.8 24.6 24.4 14.7
1971 NA 30.9 28.9 26.5 25.6 20.4 38.6 13.4 31.8 28.1 27.4 17.0
1972 NA 33.2 33.3 30.6 28.4 22.5 42.7 15.0 36.3 31.3 30.6 19.8
1973 NA 35.9 40.7 35.5 34.5 25.9 48.2 17.7 43.4 35.3 34.3 22.5
1974 NA 41.3 53.3 43.2 41.7 30.9 54.9 23.1 51.6 41.4 40.3 26.9
1975 NA 47.3 62.1 52.4 49.7 37.9 60.4 29.2 59.0 49.6 49.4 36.0
1976 NA 54.1 66.9 59.4 55.5 43.5 65.2 36.2 66.1 57.3 57.8 41.7
1977 62.8 59.9 73.8 66.3 61.4 49.4 71.2 42.9 71.8 64.2 63.2 47.0
1978 67.9 64.4 78.7 71.5 67.6 55.7 76.7 49.4 77.9 70.9 70.4 54.7
1979 74.4 71.0 83.7 77.9 75.6 63.1 82.3 59.8 84.0 74.7 76.0 64.8
1980 83.3 78.6 89.0 86.3 83.4 72.7 89.2 70.2 88.5 81.2 84.5 78.5
1981 91.5 90.4 95.3 95.9 91.9 84.2 94.9 84.8 93.5 90.3 93.2 90.8
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 102.7 106.1 102.7 106.0 106.9 110.4 105.0 117.0 104.5 110.3 110.2 107.1
1984 106.0 111.1 105.8 114.8 113.0 119.8 110.0 134.3 106.6 120.9 119.6 115.4
1985 111.3 116.8 110.1 122.0 120.6 129.7 116.3 150.9 111.5 132.2 131.8 126.4
1986 115.8 121.3 115.8 127.0 123.1 135.2 121.2 157.1 115.4 145.0 142.4 133.8
1987 118.4 125.0 118.6 130.0 134.6 140.2 126.9 166.0 118.8 165.6 151.9 145.9
1988 123.1 130.5 120.6 132.7 139.4 145.5 131.8 172.5 119.5 175.7 161.8 153.1
1989 127.9 135.4 128.2 139.6 147.3 153.3 138.2 189.5 120.1 183.4 179.0 173.7
1990 134.7 143.0 138.3 147.8 156.5 161.5 147.9 210.8 123.3 193.7 197.5 179.6
1991 141.9 151.1 146.2 157.2 162.2 168.5 157.7 233.1 129.2 202.8 215.1 199.6
1992 147.9 157.8 153.0 164.6 167.2 174.3 165.1 249.7 136.6 208.4 222.3 215.8
1993 153.3 158.4 157.1 NA 171.4 180.5 176.9 267.9 140.5 210.4 219.0 227.4
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees, but are labor
costs to employers.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 8. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France* Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 NA 10.1 1.9 NA 5.0 5.3 3.2 4.5 3.0 4.2 5.1 6.0
1955 NA 15.9 3.3 NA 6.9 9.4 4.8 6.5 4.4 6.3 8.1 8.5
1960 NA 20.9 4.5 8.4 9.3 10.1 7.9 8.6 6.3 8.9 11.3 11.4
1961 NA 20.6 5.3 8.9 10.5 11.1 9.2 9.5 7.4 9.7 12.4 12.2
1962 NA 20.1 6.0 9.6 11.5 12.3 10.4 11.2 8.0 10.7 13.9 12.8
1963 NA 20.7 6.7 10.5 12.5 13.4 11.1 13.2 8.8 11.4 15.2 13.4
1964 NA 21.6 7.5 11.9 13.5 14.6 12.1 14.1 10.2 12.2 16.7 14.2
1965 NA 22.8 8.5 13.3 14.9 15.8 13.2 15.1 11.5 13.5 18.4 15.6
1966 NA 24.7 9.3 14.6 17.0 16.7 14.3 16.0 12.8 14.7 20.2 16.8
1967 NA 26.1 10.5 16.0 18.9 17.9 15.2 17.7 14.2 16.4 22.4 17.1
1968 NA 28.2 12.2 17.0 19.4 20.2 16.3 18.9 15.8 18.1 24.3 15.9
1969 NA 30.4 14.6 18.6 21.7 20.5 18.1 20.6 17.9 20.0 26.4 17.4
1970 NA 33.9 17.4 21.3 24.8 21.6 22.9 25.1 20.6 22.2 29.5 20.1
1971 NA 37.7 20.7 25.0 28.9 24.4 27.0 29.4 24.3 25.8 33.7 23.7
1972 NA 41.3 27.3 31.8 34.1 29.4 32.5 34.9 30.2 30.7 40.4 28.3
1973 NA 44.3 37.4 41.8 47.7 38.4 44.2 41.2 41.7 39.7 49.4 31.6
1974 NA 52.2 45.6 50.9 57.2 42.1 51.6 48.1 51.4 48.5 57.1 36.1
1975 NA 57.3 52.1 65.4 72.3 58.2 59.7 60.5 62.5 61.4 75.0 45.8
1976 NA 67.7 56.2 70.5 76.6 59.9 62.9 59.0 66.8 67.7 83.4 43.1
1977 62.8 69.5 68.6 84.7 85.3 66.1 74.5 65.7 78.2 77.9 88.9 46.9
1978 67.9 69.8 94.0 104.2 102.5 81.4 92.8 78.8 96.3 87.3 98.0 60.0
1979 74.4 74.8 95.5 121.6 119.9 97.5 109.1 97.4 111.9 95.2 111.3 78.7
1980 83.3 83.0 98.3 135.4 123.7 113.3 119.3 111.1 119.1 106.2 125.5 104.4
1981 91.5 93.1 107.6 118.5 107.4 101.8 102.2 100.9 100.4 101.6 115.6 105.1
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 102.7 106.2 107.7 94.9 97.5 95.3 99.9 104.3 97.8 97.5 90.2 92.9
1984 106.0 105.9 111.0 91.0 91.0 90.2 93.9 103.5 88.8 95.7 90.9 88.2
1985 111.3 105.6 115.0 94.2 95.0 95.0 96.0 107.0 89.7 99.3 96.3 93.8
1986 115.8 107.8 171.2 130.2 126.9 128.4 135.6 142.7 125.9 126.5 125.6 112.3
1987 118.4 116.3 204.2 159.3 164.1 153.4 171.4 173.3 156.7 158.7 150.4 136.9
1988 123.1 130.9 234.4 165.1 172.6 160.6 182.1 179.3 161.4 173.9 165.7 156.0
1989 127.9 141.2 231.2 162.2 167.9 158.1 178.4 187.0 151.2 171.3 174.3 162.8
1990 134.7 151.2 237.5 202.5 211.0 195.1 222.2 238.1 180.8 200.0 209.5 183.3
1991 141.9 162.8 270.6 210.5 211.4 196.3 230.5 254.3 184.4 201.7 223.3 201.8
1992 147.9 161.2 300.5 234.3 231.0 216.6 256.7 274.4 207.5 216.6 239.8 218.1
1993 153.3 151.5 352.2 NA 220.5 209.5 259.6 230.5 202.0 191.4 176.5 195.4
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees, but are labor
costs to employers.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 9. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, national currency basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 25.3 35.5 NA 17.0 14.2 30.0 12.6 25.8 13.4 16.4 9.1
1955 NA 29.2 37.5 NA 21.3 20.3 31.3 12.9 30.1 18.4 23.7 12.0
1960 NA 31.9 35.3 37.7 23.8 24.0 34.9 13.5 33.4 20.6 25.7 14.1
1961 NA 31.0 36.2 39.4 25.3 25.1 37.5 13.9 36.2 21.9 26.9 15.1
1962 NA 29.9 39.7 40.3 26.3 26.2 39.8 14.7 37.5 24.0 28.0 15.5
1963 NA 30.0 41.0 42.8 27.7 27.2 40.8 17.0 39.9 24.4 29.2 15.4
1964 NA 29.9 40.7 45.5 27.7 27.5 40.8 18.0 42.5 24.7 29.4 15.4
1965 NA 30.1 43.9 48.0 29.3 27.9 42.4 17.3 44.8 25.7 30.3 16.4
1966 NA 31.8 44.0 49.7 31.7 27.4 44.2 16.9 47.2 27.0 31.9 17.2
1967 NA 33.1 42.9 51.3 33.2 27.8 43.8 17.8 48.9 29.1 32.6 16.9
1968 NA 33.3 44.4 50.5 33.5 28.5 43.7 17.6 48.7 30.2 32.4 16.9
1969 NA 34.1 45.5 50.6 36.2 28.6 44.9 18.6 50.5 30.5 32.8 18.0
1970 NA 37.3 48.0 52.2 39.0 30.4 51.4 21.3 52.7 33.0 35.3 20.3
1971 NA 37.5 52.8 56.4 42.0 32.5 55.4 24.1 57.1 36.5 38.1 22.4
1972 NA 38.4 55.0 58.5 43.0 34.4 57.8 24.9 60.0 38.5 40.5 24.5
1973 NA 39.1 61.6 61.3 47.4 37.1 61.6 27.1 64.5 40.9 42.3 26.1
1974 NA 44.3 79.7 70.8 55.5 43.4 67.7 33.1 70.8 46.1 47.7 30.8
1975 NA 52.4 89.3 82.5 60.2 51.3 71.5 43.3 82.8 55.9 57.7 41.9
1976 NA 56.1 89.7 84.9 64.8 55.6 72.0 47.3 83.3 62.7 66.5 46.6
1977 65.3 58.8 94.7 90.3 70.3 59.8 76.5 54.8 86.8 70.8 73.9 52.1
1978 70.5 62.6 95.6 91.8 76.4 64.6 79.6 59.3 88.4 76.9 80.1 60.0
1979 78.4 68.4 94.3 94.8 81.4 70.0 82.0 65.6 90.4 76.5 80.1 70.7
1980 89.7 78.7 96.7 98.7 85.1 80.3 90.6 73.5 94.2 84.3 87.7 86.3
1981 95.1 86.3 99.8 101.7 92.2 90.3 94.5 86.8 95.9 93.6 96.8 95.5
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 100.5 98.9 100.8 95.6 101.9 107.6 99.5 111.2 98.1 104.8 103.1 99.9
1984 102.4 95.5 99.7 99.1 108.3 114.9 100.8 116.1 92.7 107.4 106.8 102.6
1985 104.2 97.6 98.4 104.1 114.9 119.9 102.6 123.4 93.9 114.0 116.4 108.6
1986 105.8 102.9 104.9 107.5 124.5 122.8 106.3 127.1 96.1 126.5 123.7 110.9
1987 101.6 105.0 99.2 108.2 136.8 125.1 113.0 130.5 98.4 137.6 129.2 115.0
1988 103.2 109.2 95.4 106.0 136.5 121.6 113.3 132.6 96.0 146.7 136.0 114.7
1989 106.7 112.8 94.8 106.5 139.5 122.0 114.9 141.4 93.5 145.6 145.7 125.5
1990 110.4 116.7 95.7 110.4 148.3 126.6 117.9 151.3 94.7 150.0 158.1 128.2
1991 114.0 121.5 96.6 114.9 153.8 131.8 122.1 162.1 98.3 155.8 170.1 137.2
1992 114.6 122.2 101.6 115.3 155.1 133.3 128.8 165.6 103.3 157.4 164.1 141.8
1993 114.0 120.2 105.0 NA 150.5 136.5 135.0 167.2 105.1 155.7 148.0 142.1
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 10. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 28.5 24.6 NA 20.6 26.6 17.4 27.2 18.1 12.1 19.9 14.5
1955 NA 36.6 26.0 NA 25.8 38.2 18.1 27.9 21.1 16.6 28.8 19.2
1960 NA 40.6 24.4 34.6 28.8 32.2 20.3 29.5 23.7 18.7 31.3 22.7
1961 NA 37.8 25.0 36.2 30.5 33.6 22.7 30.2 26.7 19.8 32.7 24.2
1962 NA 34.6 27.4 37.0 31.8 35.1 24.2 32.2 27.8 21.7 34.1 24.9
1963 NA 34.3 28.3 39.3 33.5 36.5 24.8 37.1 29.6 22.0 35.4 24.7
1964 NA 34.2 28.0 41.9 33.4 36.9 24.9 38.9 31.5 22.3 35.9 24.6
1965 NA 34.4 30.3 44.3 35.4 37.4 25.8 37.4 33.3 23.2 36.9 26.2
1966 NA 36.5 30.2 45.6 38.3 36.7 26.9 36.7 34.8 24.4 38.8 27.4
1967 NA 37.9 29.5 47.3 39.7 37.1 26.7 38.6 36.2 26.3 39.7 26.6
1968 NA 38.1 30.7 46.3 37.3 37.8 26.6 38.2 35.9 27.3 39.4 23.1
1969 NA 39.1 31.6 46.2 40.1 36.3 27.8 40.2 37.2 27.6 39.9 24.6
1970 NA 44.1 33.4 48.2 43.4 36.2 34.2 46.0 38.9 29.8 42.8 27.9
1971 NA 45.8 37.9 53.2 47.3 38.8 38.7 52.9 43.7 33.4 46.9 31.4
1972 NA 47.9 45.2 60.8 51.6 44.9 44.0 57.8 49.9 37.7 53.5 35.1
1973 NA 48.2 56.6 72.3 65.7 55.0 56.4 63.1 62.0 46.0 61.0 36.6
1974 NA 55.9 68.1 83.3 76.2 59.1 63.7 69.0 70.5 53.9 67.7 41.3
1975 NA 63.6 74.9 102.9 87.6 78.8 70.7 89.8 87.7 69.2 87.5 53.2
1976 NA 70.2 75.4 100.7 89.5 76.7 69.5 77.2 84.2 74.1 95.9 48.1
1977 65.3 68.3 88.1 115.4 97.8 80.1 80.1 84.1 94.5 85.9 103.9 52.0
1978 70.5 67.8 114.2 133.7 115.7 94.4 96.4 94.6 109.3 94.7 111.5 65.8
1979 78.4 72.1 107.6 148.0 129.1 108.2 108.6 106.9 120.4 97.5 117.5 85.9
1980 89.7 83.1 106.7 154.7 126.2 125.2 121.2 116.3 126.8 110.2 130.3 114.8
1981 95.1 88.9 112.6 125.8 107.8 109.2 101.7 103.2 103.0 105.2 120.0 110.6
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 100.5 99.0 105.7 85.6 92.9 92.9 94.6 99.1 91.8 92.7 84.4 86.6
1984 102.4 91.0 104.6 78.6 87.3 86.5 86.0 89.5 77.2 85.0 81.1 78.5
1985 104.2 88.2 102.7 80.3 90.4 87.8 84.6 87.5 75.6 85.7 85.0 80.6
1986 105.8 91.4 155.2 110.2 128.3 116.7 118.9 115.4 104.8 110.4 109.0 93.1
1987 101.6 97.8 170.8 132.6 166.7 136.9 152.6 136.3 129.8 131.8 127.9 107.9
1988 103.2 109.5 185.3 131.9 169.0 134.2 156.5 137.9 129.8 145.2 139.2 116.8
1989 106.7 117.6 171.1 123.7 159.0 125.8 148.3 139.5 117.7 136.0 141.9 117.6
1990 110.4 123.4 164.4 151.2 200.0 152.9 177.1 170.9 138.9 154.9 167.7 130.8
1991 114.0 130.9 178.7 153.8 200.4 153.6 178.5 176.8 140.3 155.0 176.6 138.7
1992 114.6 124.8 199.7 164.2 214.4 165.7 200.3 182.0 157.0 163.5 176.9 143.3
1993 114.0 115.0 235.4 NA 193.6 158.4 198.1 143.8 151.0 141.6 119.3 122.0
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 11. Exchange rates, 12 countries, 1950-1993 (Value of foreign currency relative to U.S. dollar)
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 100.0 112.9 69.2 NA 120.9 188.0 57.9 216.8 70.1 90.5 121.5 160.2
1955 100.0 125.2 69.2 NA 120.8 187.9 57.7 216.6 70.1 90.4 121.5 159.7
1960 100.0 127.3 69.2 91.8 121.0 134.1 58.2 218.0 70.8 90.5 121.6 160.6
1961 100.0 121.9 69.0 91.8 120.8 134.1 60.5 218.0 73.6 90.4 121.6 160.3
1962 100.0 115.5 69.0 92.0 120.9 134.3 60.7 218.1 74.2 90.5 121.9 160.6
1963 100.0 114.4 68.9 91.8 120.9 134.2 60.9 217.8 74.2 90.3 121.1 160.2
1964 100.0 114.4 68.8 92.0 120.7 134.2 61.1 216.8 74.1 90.2 122.0 159.7
1965 100.0 114.5 68.9 92.2 120.7 134.2 60.8 216.7 74.2 90.3 121.8 159.9
1966 100.0 114.6 68.7 91.9 120.8 133.9 60.7 216.8 73.8 90.3 121.6 159.8
1967 100.0 114.4 68.8 92.1 119.5 133.7 60.9 216.9 74.2 90.3 121.7 157.3
1968 100.0 114.6 69.1 91.7 111.5 132.8 60.8 217.2 73.8 90.4 121.6 136.9
1969 100.0 114.6 69.5 91.3 111.0 127.0 61.9 215.8 73.7 90.4 121.5 136.7
1970 100.0 118.3 69.5 92.2 111.3 119.0 66.6 215.9 73.9 90.3 121.2 137.1
1971 100.0 122.2 71.7 94.3 112.7 119.4 69.8 219.0 76.5 91.7 123.1 139.8
1972 100.0 124.6 82.2 104.0 120.0 130.4 76.2 232.0 83.2 98.0 132.1 143.1
1973 100.0 123.4 91.9 117.9 138.5 148.3 91.7 232.8 96.1 112.4 144.3 140.2
1974 100.0 126.2 85.4 117.7 137.2 136.2 94.0 208.1 99.6 117.0 141.8 133.9
1975 100.0 121.3 83.9 124.8 145.5 153.7 98.9 207.5 105.9 123.8 151.7 127.1
1976 100.0 125.2 84.0 118.7 138.1 137.8 96.5 163.1 101.1 118.3 144.3 103.2
1977 100.0 116.2 93.0 127.8 139.0 133.9 104.6 153.4 108.9 121.3 140.6 99.8
1978 100.0 108.3 119.5 145.6 151.5 146.2 121.1 159.5 123.7 123.2 139.1 109.7
1979 100.0 105.4 114.2 156.1 158.6 154.6 132.5 162.9 133.2 127.5 146.6 121.4
1980 100.0 105.6 110.4 156.8 148.2 155.9 133.8 158.3 134.6 130.8 148.6 133.1
1981 100.0 103.0 112.9 123.6 116.9 121.0 107.7 118.9 107.4 112.4 124.0 115.8
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 100.0 100.2 104.8 89.5 91.2 86.3 95.1 89.1 93.6 88.4 81.9 86.7
1984 100.0 95.3 104.9 79.3 80.6 75.3 85.3 77.1 83.3 79.1 76.0 76.5
1985 100.0 90.4 104.4 77.2 78.7 73.3 82.5 70.9 80.5 75.1 73.0 74.2
1986 100.0 88.8 147.9 102.5 103.1 95.0 111.9 90.8 109.1 87.3 88.2 84.0
1987 100.0 93.1 172.2 122.5 121.9 109.4 135.0 104.4 131.9 95.8 99.0 93.8
1988 100.0 100.3 194.3 124.5 123.8 110.4 138.2 104.0 135.1 99.0 102.4 101.9
1989 100.0 104.2 180.4 116.2 114.0 103.1 129.1 98.7 125.9 93.4 97.3 93.7
1990 100.0 105.8 171.8 137.0 134.8 120.8 150.2 113.0 146.7 103.2 106.1 102.1
1991 100.0 107.7 185.1 133.9 130.3 116.5 146.2 109.1 142.7 99.5 103.8 101.1
1992 100.0 102.1 196.5 142.4 138.2 124.3 155.5 109.9 151.9 103.9 107.9 101.0
1993 100.0 95.7 224.2 132.4 128.6 116.1 146.8 86.0 143.8 91.0 80.6 85.9
NA: Not Available
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 12. Avg. annual compensation in manufacturing, nat. currency basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France* Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 NA 10.0 2.9 NA 5.6 3.4 7.7 2.4 5.4 5.8 5.9 4.4
1955 NA 13.7 5.4 NA 7.6 5.9 11.5 3.5 7.9 8.8 9.2 6.3
1960 NA 17.6 7.7 11.5 9.7 9.0 16.7 4.6 11.3 11.9 12.1 8.3
1961 NA 17.9 8.8 12.1 10.6 10.0 18.4 5.1 12.3 12.9 13.2 8.7
1962 NA 18.7 9.8 13.0 11.7 11.0 20.3 5.8 13.1 14.1 14.6 9.1
1963 NA 19.5 10.9 14.4 12.5 12.0 21.3 6.9 14.4 15.0 15.9 9.5
1964 NA 20.4 12.1 16.2 13.6 12.9 23.1 7.3 16.5 16.1 17.2 10.2
1965 NA 21.6 13.4 17.7 15.1 13.9 25.3 7.6 18.4 17.3 18.8 11.0
1966 NA 23.1 14.9 19.4 16.9 14.8 27.1 8.2 20.5 19.0 20.6 11.7
1967 NA 24.4 16.7 20.9 18.7 15.8 27.7 9.2 22.7 21.0 22.5 11.9
1968 NA 26.4 19.3 22.4 20.1 17.3 30.2 9.8 24.8 22.6 23.9 12.9
1969 NA 28.4 22.6 24.3 22.3 18.9 33.2 10.7 27.7 24.4 25.6 14.1
1970 NA 30.4 26.5 26.9 24.7 21.0 38.8 12.7 31.2 26.9 28.1 16.0
1971 NA 32.5 30.2 30.3 28.3 23.4 42.4 14.3 35.4 30.5 31.5 18.1
1972 NA 35.0 34.5 34.2 30.6 25.6 46.5 15.9 39.8 33.6 34.3 20.9
1973 NA 37.7 41.9 38.7 35.2 29.0 52.2 18.9 46.6 37.9 37.7 24.1
1974 NA 43.1 52.5 45.9 43.4 34.2 58.2 23.9 53.8 44.0 43.8 27.9
1975 NA 48.7 59.5 52.7 50.1 40.6 62.5 29.6 60.3 52.8 52.6 37.2
1976 NA 55.7 66.1 60.8 56.2 46.9 69.2 36.8 67.4 59.5 60.8 43.4
1977 65.1 61.8 73.2 67.6 61.6 52.8 74.4 43.3 72.9 65.6 66.0 49.3
1978 70.4 66.7 78.5 72.8 67.1 59.0 79.0 49.7 78.3 71.7 71.6 57.1
1979 76.7 72.9 84.5 79.3 74.9 66.7 84.5 59.8 83.5 74.5 76.0 67.3
1980 84.8 80.4 89.8 86.5 83.3 76.9 90.5 70.3 88.5 81.5 83.6 78.9
1981 93.2 91.4 95.5 93.9 90.5 88.0 95.0 85.0 93.0 90.5 92.8 89.9
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 105.5 107.4 103.3 103.4 108.4 109.7 104.7 117.0 104.4 110.8 111.5 107.4
1984 110.5 113.7 107.7 111.3 114.2 119.2 109.7 134.3 105.8 120.8 123.4 116.7
1985 116.0 119.6 111.5 120.0 117.8 128.3 114.1 149.6 108.1 131.2 135.1 127.9
1986 120.7 124.1 116.3 125.0 123.1 133.9 118.0 159.7 111.8 143.5 145.2 135.0
1987 124.1 128.8 119.6 129.0 131.5 139.7 122.9 171.8 114.8 159.2 156.8 148.3
1988 130.4 134.8 123.0 133.9 136.2 145.6 127.4 184.7 115.3 169.4 166.7 156.4
1989 135.4 138.9 129.3 140.2 142.2 153.0 131.9 202.6 115.7 178.0 183.8 177.2
1990 141.6 146.5 137.3 150.2 149.3 160.5 138.9 219.9 118.7 187.9 205.1 181.8
1991 148.2 154.7 141.9 157.1 155.2 166.9 146.6 240.4 124.1 197.6 223.1 198.4
1992 156.3 162.7 144.0 164.4 160.4 172.9 155.1 257.3 131.0 205.3 235.2 214.6
1993 163.3 166.7 144.1 NA 163.2 178.5 160.7 268.8 134.8 207.8 235.3 224.5
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees, but are labor
costs to employers.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 13. Real hourly compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 39.4 17.9 NA 31.9 22.9 15.7 22.4 19.8 31.4 29.7 36.1
1955 NA 49.5 23.2 NA 35.5 30.9 21.3 26.0 24.5 35.1 35.9 39.5
1960 NA 58.1 29.5 29.3 43.1 34.9 31.5 29.9 30.5 43.4 41.5 46.3
1961 NA 59.1 32.6 30.7 46.5 37.3 34.5 32.2 34.4 46.2 44.6 47.9
1962 NA 60.2 34.8 32.5 47.4 39.4 38.0 36.1 35.9 48.1 47.5 48.2
1963 NA 61.6 36.2 35.2 48.9 41.0 39.3 39.8 38.3 50.1 51.0 49.4
1964 NA 63.0 39.2 38.1 51.0 43.1 41.6 40.0 41.9 50.7 53.8 51.1
1965 NA 64.9 41.0 40.7 53.2 45.6 44.2 41.1 45.2 53.7 56.5 53.3
1966 NA 67.6 43.0 43.1 56.7 47.0 46.4 42.9 47.9 56.8 58.1 55.5
1967 NA 69.3 46.3 45.8 59.1 49.3 48.3 46.3 51.3 60.8 61.8 56.8
1968 NA 71.7 51.1 47.7 60.2 53.7 51.2 48.8 55.0 64.7 65.9 58.3
1969 NA 74.1 57.6 50.3 65.5 55.1 54.9 52.1 58.1 69.2 69.2 60.1
1970 NA 77.4 63.6 55.1 70.1 59.2 62.6 60.3 63.9 69.5 72.6 65.0
1971 NA 81.1 69.3 60.5 76.2 62.8 66.7 66.3 67.9 75.0 75.3 68.5
1972 NA 83.1 76.0 66.2 79.2 65.2 70.0 70.3 71.9 77.8 79.3 74.5
1973 NA 83.7 83.2 71.8 87.9 69.5 74.1 74.9 79.5 81.7 82.0 77.5
1974 NA 86.8 88.5 77.6 92.3 72.7 78.9 82.0 86.3 87.6 87.9 80.0
1975 NA 89.6 92.3 83.4 100.4 79.3 81.9 88.3 89.5 93.8 98.3 86.4
1976 NA 95.3 90.8 86.6 102.8 82.9 84.6 94.1 92.1 99.3 103.9 85.9
1977 100.0 97.7 92.6 90.3 102.3 86.0 89.4 93.3 93.8 102.1 101.2 83.3
1978 100.4 96.5 94.8 93.3 102.5 88.7 93.8 95.6 97.8 104.2 104.5 89.1
1979 98.9 97.5 97.2 97.2 104.5 90.9 97.0 100.0 101.2 104.8 105.6 92.9
1980 97.5 97.9 96.0 101.0 102.6 92.2 99.9 96.9 100.0 102.7 103.0 95.6
1981 97.1 100.2 97.9 104.2 101.2 94.2 99.9 98.7 99.1 100.6 101.5 99.3
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 99.5 100.3 100.8 98.5 100.0 100.7 101.8 101.8 101.7 101.7 99.2 102.5
1984 98.4 100.6 101.6 100.3 99.4 101.7 104.1 105.6 100.4 105.0 100.1 104.9
1985 99.8 101.8 103.6 101.6 101.4 103.9 107.9 109.3 102.7 108.6 102.6 108.4
1986 102.0 101.6 108.2 104.4 99.8 105.5 112.7 107.2 106.2 111.1 106.2 110.9
1987 100.6 100.2 110.8 105.2 105.0 106.1 117.9 108.3 109.9 116.4 108.6 116.1
1988 100.4 100.5 111.9 106.1 104.0 107.3 121.1 107.2 109.7 116.1 110.6 116.1
1989 99.5 99.4 116.3 108.4 104.8 109.1 123.3 110.5 108.9 115.8 115.4 122.2
1990 99.5 100.1 121.7 110.9 108.6 111.3 128.6 115.9 109.2 117.6 114.4 115.5
1991 100.5 100.2 124.6 114.1 109.8 112.4 132.4 120.3 110.1 119.0 114.2 121.2
1992 101.7 103.1 128.2 116.6 110.9 113.6 133.3 122.3 112.3 119.5 115.7 126.3
1993 102.4 101.6 129.8 NA 112.3 115.2 137.6 125.8 113.2 117.9 110.6 131.1
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 14. Real average annual compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 12 countries, 1950-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
United Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 43.9 19.2 NA 43.0 27.5 21.6 25.4 24.9 39.5 41.2 42.3
1955 NA 53.2 26.1 NA 47.1 36.8 29.3 30.3 30.9 44.2 49.4 46.9
1960 NA 62.0 34.6 36.8 54.3 41.8 39.0 35.2 38.8 52.5 54.2 53.8
1961 NA 62.7 37.5 38.5 56.8 44.9 42.0 37.5 42.0 55.1 57.5 55.0
1962 NA 64.7 39.2 40.8 58.3 47.4 45.0 40.7 43.5 57.2 60.9 54.8
1963 NA 66.4 40.3 44.1 59.3 49.3 45.8 45.1 46.2 59.4 64.6 56.1
1964 NA 68.2 43.4 47.7 62.3 51.5 48.5 45.4 50.1 60.6 67.5 58.4
1965 NA 70.3 44.5 50.0 64.9 54.0 51.4 45.1 53.9 62.5 70.3 60.1
1966 NA 72.7 46.9 52.6 67.9 55.9 53.2 47.5 56.7 66.3 72.4 61.5
1967 NA 74.2 50.7 55.1 70.0 58.0 53.7 52.0 60.5 70.3 75.7 62.5
1968 NA 76.9 55.8 57.5 69.7 61.3 57.8 54.8 63.8 73.0 79.0 64.7
1969 NA 79.1 61.9 60.0 74.8 64.5 62.2 58.2 66.4 76.3 81.5 66.6
1970 NA 82.0 67.5 64.0 77.6 68.5 70.4 66.1 71.7 76.0 83.7 70.9
1971 NA 85.4 72.3 69.2 84.0 72.1 73.3 70.6 75.5 81.3 86.7 73.1
1972 NA 87.6 78.9 74.1 85.4 74.2 76.2 74.4 78.8 83.5 88.9 78.7
1973 NA 87.8 85.7 78.3 89.8 77.9 80.2 80.2 85.4 87.6 90.1 83.0
1974 NA 90.5 87.1 82.5 96.1 80.4 83.6 84.7 89.9 93.1 95.5 82.9
1975 NA 92.3 88.4 83.9 101.2 85.0 84.6 89.6 91.5 99.9 104.7 89.1
1976 NA 98.1 89.8 88.7 104.2 89.3 89.8 95.5 94.0 103.2 109.3 89.4
1977 103.7 100.9 91.9 92.1 102.8 91.9 93.4 94.3 95.3 104.3 105.9 87.4
1978 104.2 99.9 94.6 94.9 101.7 94.0 96.6 96.3 98.4 105.4 106.3 93.0
1979 102.0 100.1 98.1 98.9 103.6 96.1 99.5 100.0 100.6 104.6 105.7 96.6
1980 99.3 100.2 96.8 101.3 102.4 97.6 101.3 97.1 100.0 103.1 102.0 96.1
1981 98.9 101.3 98.2 102.0 99.7 98.4 100.0 98.9 98.5 100.7 101.0 98.3
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 102.2 101.6 101.4 96.0 101.4 100.1 101.4 101.8 101.6 102.2 100.5 102.8
1984 102.6 103.0 103.4 97.2 100.5 101.3 103.7 105.6 99.7 104.9 103.3 106.1
1985 104.1 104.2 104.9 99.9 99.0 102.8 105.9 108.3 99.7 107.8 105.1 109.6
1986 106.3 103.9 108.7 102.8 99.8 104.5 109.7 109.0 102.9 110.0 108.3 111.9
1987 105.4 103.3 111.7 104.5 102.5 105.7 114.2 112.1 106.1 111.9 112.1 118.0
1988 106.3 103.9 114.1 107.1 101.6 107.4 117.0 114.8 105.8 111.9 113.9 118.7
1989 105.3 102.0 117.3 108.8 101.2 108.9 117.7 118.1 104.9 112.4 118.4 124.7
1990 104.5 102.6 120.8 112.7 103.5 110.6 120.8 120.9 105.2 114.0 118.8 116.9
1991 105.0 102.6 120.9 114.0 105.1 111.3 123.1 124.1 105.8 116.0 118.5 120.5
1992 107.5 106.3 120.6 116.5 106.4 112.7 125.2 126.0 107.8 117.6 122.4 125.6
1993 109.1 107.0 119.1 NA 106.9 113.9 124.9 126.3 108.6 116.4 118.9 129.4
NA: Not Available
Note: The data relate to all employed persons (wage and salary earners and self-employed workers) in the United States and
Canada, and all employees (wage and salary earners) in the other countries.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 15. Korea: Output and unit labor costs, all employees in manufacturing, 1970-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
Unit Labor Costs
National U.S.
Compen- currency dollar Exchange
Year Output sation basis basis rate*
1970 20.2 3.1 15.2 35.7 235.4
1971 23.8 3.9 16.2 34.1 210.6
1972 27.0 4.9 18.0 33.4 186.1
1973 34.8 7.4 21.4 39.3 183.5
1974 40.4 10.7 26.5 47.9 180.8
1975 45.2 13.8 30.4 46.0 151.1
1976 55.9 21.6 38.6 58.4 151.1
1977 64.3 29.1 45.2 68.3 151.1
1978 77.8 42.1 54.1 81.8 151.1
1979 85.9 56.5 65.8 99.3 151.1
1980 85.3 70.6 82.8 99.7 120.4
1981 93.7 89.1 95.1 102.1 107.4
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 115.4 121.9 105.6 99.6 94.2
1984 135.4 144.0 106.3 96.4 90.7
1985 145.0 152.9 105.4 88.6 84.0
1986 171.6 178.5 104.0 86.3 82.9
1987 203.7 222.7 109.3 97.2 88.9
1988 231.1 280.9 121.5 121.5 99.9
1989 240.9 353.0 146.5 159.5 108.9
1990 264.3 423.1 160.1 165.3 103.3
1991 288.3 486.9 168.9 168.3 99.7
1992 303.0 544.2 179.6 168.2 93.7
1993 318.1 580.8 182.6 166.3 91.1
*Value of foreign currency relative to U.S. dollar.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.
Table 16. Taiwan: Output and unit labor costs, all employees in manufacturing, 1970-1993
(Indexes: 1982=100)
Unit Labor Costs
National U.S.
Compen- currency dollar Exchange
Year Output sation basis basis rate*
1970 26.9 8.1 30.0 29.3 97.8
1971 32.8 10.3 31.6 30.9 97.8
1972 39.4 12.6 32.0 31.3 97.8
1973 46.1 17.2 37.2 38.1 102.3
1974 43.6 24.5 56.3 58.0 103.0
1975 45.7 26.0 57.0 58.7 103.0
1976 55.8 33.0 59.0 60.8 103.0
1977 63.0 38.8 61.6 63.4 103.0
1978 75.7 47.1 62.3 65.8 105.6
1979 81.6 57.8 70.8 76.8 108.5
1980 90.2 73.4 81.4 88.4 108.6
1981 97.6 91.7 93.9 99.7 106.2
1982 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1983 110.8 109.3 98.6 96.3 97.7
1984 126.8 130.5 102.9 101.7 98.8
1985 131.5 140.4 106.8 104.8 98.2
1986 152.5 167.7 109.9 113.7 103.4
1987 172.0 189.2 110.0 135.6 123.3
1988 178.2 202.3 113.5 155.3 136.9
1989 184.8 219.0 118.5 175.6 148.2
1990 184.4 233.9 126.9 184.4 145.3
1991 196.5 253.1 128.8 188.4 146.2
1992 203.3 273.2 134.4 209.0 155.5
1993 208.9 289.3 138.4 205.0 148.1
*Value of foreign currency relative to U.S. dollar.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 1994.