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- 1 Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov Technical information: (202) 691-5654 Media contact: (202) 691-5902 USDL: 00-121 For Release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Friday, April 28, 2000 INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS OF MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY AND UNIT LABOR COST TRENDS, REVISED DATA FOR 1998 In the United States, labor productivity in manufacturing increased in 1998 by 4.7 percent, according to revised data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. achieved the highest productivity growth rate among the 11 countries being compared. The countries with the next largest increases were the former West Germany and France. Only one country, Japan, experienced a productivity decline. (See chart 1.) These estimates represent revisions to the data contained in a news release (USDL: 99-235) issued August 27, 1999, and are based on data available as of December 1999. The U.S. manufacturing output series used for international comparisons differs from the manufacturing series that BLS publishes quarterly on U.S. productivity and costs. Labor productivity for this release is computed as value added output per hour worked. (See technical notes.) PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT Chart 1. Percent change in manufacturing output per hour, 1998 - 2 Unit labor costs - the cost of labor input required to produce one unit of output - are computed as the ratio of labor costs in nominal terms divided by real output. Unit labor costs also can be expressed as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity. An increase in productivity represents a decrease in the amount of labor input used to produce a unit of output; thus, an increase in productivity can offset an increase in compensation per hour in its effects on unit labor costs. In 1998, unit labor costs in manufacturing, expressed in national currency units, rose in 8 of the 14 countries compared and declined in the other 6. The United States experienced a slight increase (0.5 percent). The largest increases were in the United Kingdom (4.6 percent) and Norway (3.9 percent). The largest declines occurred in Korea (-7.7 percent) and the former W. Germany (-3.3 percent). (See table A.) In order to properly assess international competitiveness trends in manufactured products, it is essential to take into account changes in exchange rates. Converted to U.S. dollars at market exchange rates, 1998 unit labor costs declined in all the countries except the U.S. and the U.K. The steepest declines occurred in Asia, especially in Korea and Taiwan. (See chart 2.) The declines in unit labor costs in U.S. dollars occurred because the exchange rates of all the currencies, except the U.K. pound, fell against the U.S. dollar during 1998. These drops were especially sharp for Korea and Taiwan, where exchange rates fell 32.1 and 14.2 percent against the dollar, respectively. The drops in exchange rates offset any increases in unit labor costs in national currency units. (See table A.) PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT Chart 2. Percent change in manufacturing unit labor costs (U.S. dollar basis), 1998 - 3 Table A summarizes changes in manufacturing productivity, unit labor costs, and related variables between 1997 and 1998. Output and unit labor cost data are presented for all 14 economies. Comparable productivity data are not shown for Korea, Taiwan, and Denmark. (See technical notes.) Except for the U.K. and Japan, output per hour rose because output increased more than hours. For the U.K., positive productivity growth was due to an increase in output and a decrease in hours. Japan's negative growth in productivity was the result of a decline in output greater than the decline in hours. Unit labor costs are affected by the degree and direction of a change in both hourly compensation and productivity. Except for Japan, the countries with rising unit labor costs saw hourly compensation increase more than productivity. Japan's hourly compensation rose while productivity declined. The fall in unit labor costs for Italy can be attributed to a decrease in hourly compensation combined with an increase in productivity. For France and the former W. Germany, hourly compensation rose to a lesser degree than productivity did, causing negative growth of unit labor costs. Hours worked series are not available for the remaining three countries that experienced a decrease in unit labor costs in 1998. Table A. Manufacturing productivity and labor costs in 14 countries or areas Percent change, 1997-98 Country or area United States Canada Japan Korea (2) Taiwan (2) Belgium Denmark (3) France Germany (4) Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom (1) (2) (3) (4) Output per hour Hours Employment Average hours Total compensation Hourly compensation Output 4.7 Unit labor costs National U.S. currency dollars 4.8 0.1 0.5 - 0.4 5.4 5.3 0.5 0.5 0.7 - 0.8 NA NA 0.6 NA 3.4 3.9 - 6.7 - 7.2 3.9 2.6 5.1 3.9 3.2 - 5.9 NA NA 1.9 NA 0.5 3.7 - 3.9 NA NA 1.7 2.3 0.2 - 0.6 - 2.1 NA NA 0.2 NA 0.2 7.2 - 4.4 -14.4 2.7 2.7 3.1 1.9 3.9 1.7 NA NA 0.8 NA 1.4 3.2 2.5 7.7 1.1 0.1 2.0 1.9 - 3.7 - 5.3 -37.4 -15.2 - 1.3 - 3.3 - 2.9 - 6.7 - 7.6 -32.1 -14.2 - 1.4 - 1.4 - 1.0 4.3 0.2 1.7 2.1 2.2 1.1 5.2 1.9 2.2 2.8 4.4 0.4 0.8 1.7 0.4 0.7 2.2 - 0.7 - 0.2 1.9 0.6 0.6 2.3 - 0.4 1.1 - 0.2 - 0.2 0.0 - 0.1 - 0.3 1.7 0.8 2.6 6.8 5.0 5.0 0.8 - 0.9 2.2 6.1 2.7 5.7 - - - - 3.3 - 1.1 0.4 3.9 0.6 4.6 Value of foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar. Productivity not available because suitable labor input measures have not been developed by BLS. Labor input data have not been produced for 1994-1998 by the Danish national statistical agency. Data relate to the former West Germany. NA=Not Available Although the productivity measure relates output to the hours worked of persons employed in manufacturing, it does not measure the specific contributions of labor as a single factor of production. Rather, it 4.7 3.0 1.2 2.5 3.3 5.9 Exchange rate (1) --- 1.4 1.9 1.6 6.2 3.9 1.2 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. - 4 Table B (pages 7-11) shows average annual percent changes for selected periods beginning in 1979. Annual indexes of the data are in tables 1-15 (pages 17-31). BOX: Notes about the measures The measures in this news release are based on data available to BLS as of December 1999. Revisions for 1998 and some earlier years were made to the measures for several countries to incorporate data not available at the time of the August 1999 news release (USDL: 99-235). Data for the Netherlands have been revised to provide estimates on the basis of the European System of Integrated National Accounts (ESA 95), as well as on an all-employed persons basis. The U.S. manufacturing output measure The output measure for the United States is the chain-weighted index of real gross product originating (deflated value added), introduced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, in August 1996. This series is based on annually changing price weights. The U.S. output data through 1997 were published by BEA in November 1998. The data incorporate the results of the comprehensive revision of the national income and product accounts (NIPAs) released in May 1997; the estimates for 1995-97 also incorporate the results of the annual NIPA revisions released in July 1998. Updated and revised data through 1998, including revisions due to the 1999 comprehensive NIPA revision, are expected to be released by BEA in May 2000. The BLS estimate of 1998 real output was derived by extrapolating the 1997 number forward, using the annual growth rate of the Federal Reserve Board's (FRB) Industrial Production Index for Total Manufacturing. The FRB revised its index series in November 1999. The upward revision of the index results in an upward revision of U.S. output in 1998. The U.S. output series used for international comparisons differs from the manufacturing series that BLS publishes in its news releases on quarterly measures of U.S. productivity and costs. While both series are based on annually-changing price weights, the international comparisons program uses a value added output concept, while the quarterly U.S. manufacturing series is on a sectoral output basis. For information on the differences between the value added and the sectoral output measures, see technical notes. New measures of National Accounts Member states of the European Union are implementing the European System of Integrated National Accounts (ESA 95). Some other countries are adopting the System of National Accounts recommended by the United Nations (SNA 93), the system on which ESA 95 is based. Revisions due to these conversions to new systems are incorporated in this news release. END OF BOX: Notes about the measures - 5 Productivity, output, and labor input During 1998, the rate of productivity increase slowed in seven countries and declined in one. The slowdown was especially strong in Belgium (from 6.1 percent in 1997 to 0.6 percent in 1998) and Sweden (from 6.5 percent in 1997 to 2.2 percent in 1998). In Japan, productivity fell by 0.8 percent in 1998, reversing the country's positive growth of 4.9 percent in 1997. Overall, there was a slowdown or actual decline in output growth in 11 of 14 countries and a more rapid expansion of hours worked, or reversals of the previous year's declines, in 7 of 11 countries. (See table B.) Three countries had greater 1998 productivity growth relative to 1997 -- the United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway. The U.S. productivity growth was the highest of all countries in 1998 at 4.7 percent, up from 4.1 percent in 1997. The U.K. productivity measure rose from 0.8 to 1.1 percent. Norway reversed a decline in productivity, from -0.1 percent to 2.1 percent. All three countries' productivity rates rose as a result of small changes in hours worked -upward for the U.S. and Norway and downward for the U.K. (See table B.) Most countries experienced slower growth in manufacturing output in 1998 compared with 1997. Two of the East Asian economies saw a decline in output, reflecting their economic slowdowns. Japan's output declined by 6.7 percent after a 4.1 percent rise in 1997. Korean output fell by 7.2 percent after a 6.6 percent increase the previous year. Taiwan experienced only a slowdown of output growth from 6.6 percent to 3.9 percent, which was still well below the economy's average annual growth rate since 1979. Denmark experienced an expansion in the rate of output growth, from 2.1 to 5.1 percent, and former W. Germany's rose, from 3.6 to 5.2 percent. Norwegian output growth was unchanged, at 2.8 percent. (See table B.) Contrary to a generally declining trend in hours over the last several years, 9 of the 11 countries for which estimates are available showed increases in aggregate manufacturing hours worked in 1998, driven by growth in employment for most countries; in the former W. Germany, the cause was growth in average hours. Total hours worked declined in Japan and the United Kingdom, due to falls in both employment and average hours. The other economies studied recorded an increase in total hours. For the U.S., Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden, employment grew as average hours fell. For Belgium, France, and Norway, employment rose as average hours rose or did not change. The former W. Germany was the only economy in which employment fell while average hours rose. (See tables A and B.) Hourly compensation and unit labor costs Hourly compensation measures are affected by both total compensation and hours worked. Of the four countries with faster growth of hourly compensation in 1998 compared with 1997, three also had higher productivity growth in 1998 than in 1997 -- the U.S., the U.K., and Norway. In nominal terms, hourly compensation in U.S. manufacturing increased 5.3 percent in 1998, following a 3.7 percent rise in 1997. This increase was above the annual average since 1979. (See table B.) Only Norway (6.1 percent) and the U.K. (5.7 percent) reported larger increases in hourly compensation during 1998, expressed in their national currencies. - 6 Italy's negative growth rate of hourly compensation (-0.9 percent) was due to slower growth of aggregate labor compensation (0.8 percent) relative to the increase in hours worked (1.7 percent). Japan's hourly compensation rose because the decline in compensation (-4.4 percent) was less than the drop in hours worked (-5.9 percent). (See table B.) For 1998, unit labor costs expressed in national currency units were up in 8 of the 14 countries and declined in the other 6. Except for Denmark, Italy, and Norway, the economies being compared saw either higher or less negative unit labor cost growth rates in 1998 compared with 1997. Unit labor costs in U.S. manufacturing grew by 0.5 percent in 1998, reversing the decline of previous years. This increase was higher than the U.S. average during the 1990-98 period. The largest increases in unit labor costs in 1998, expressed in national currency units, occurred in the U.K. (4.6 percent), Norway (3.9 percent), and Canada (3.2 percent). All three resulted from a strong rise in hourly compensation, combined with only moderate growth in labor productivity. The U.K. and Norway also are the countries, along with Denmark, that had the greatest unit labor cost increases in 1997. (See table B.) The largest declines in unit labor costs in 1998 occurred in Korea (-7.7 percent) and in the former W. Germany (-3.3 percent), but were less marked than the previous year's declines for both countries. Denmark and Italy's unit labor costs also declined in 1998 (by -2.0 and -1.1 percent, respectively). These two countries' 1998 unit labor cost growth rates reversed direction from 1997 because, in 1998, their output grew faster than compensation. (See table B.) For the second successive year, the exchange rates of all the currencies except the U.K. pound declined against the U.S. dollar during 1998. The largest drops took place in East Asia: Korean won (down 32.1 percent), Taiwanese dollar (down 14.2 percent), and Japanese yen (down 7.6 percent). Some other currencies also showed steep declines: Canadian dollar (down 6.7 percent), Norwegian krone (down 6.2 percent), and Swedish krona (down 3.9 percent). Currencies of other European countries also declined against the dollar, but more modestly, between 1.0 and 1.9 percent. This was a noticeable change from 1997, when most of these same currencies experienced double-digit declines against the dollar. (See table B.) The result of these exchange rate movements is that 1998 unit labor costs expressed in U.S. dollars declined in all the countries except the U.S. and the U.K. (See chart 2 and table B.) The steepest declines in U.S. dollar-denominated unit labor costs occurred in countries where declines in national currency-denominated unit labor costs were deepened by a steep depreciation of the exchange rate (Korea and Taiwan). In a number of cases, the exchange rate depreciation was large enough to overcome an increase in national-currency unit labor costs and result in a fall in unit labor costs expressed in U.S. dollars (Japan, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden). (See table B.) - 7 - Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-98 Average annual rates of change 1/ Country or area 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998 Output per hour United States 3.1 3.3 2.2 3.4 6.1 2.1 4.1 4.7 Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 1.9 3.5 NA NA 3.7 NA 3.5 2.3 3.5 NA NA 6.0 2.1 3.0 1.2 4.3 NA NA 2.2 0.5 3.4 2.0 2.9 NA NA 3.0 NA 3.9 2.5 7.4 NA NA 4.5 NA 5.4 -1.4 5.9 NA NA 1.3 NA 0.5 3.4 4.9 NA NA 6.1 NA 7.2 0.7 -0.8 NA NA 0.6 NA 3.4 Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom 2.6 3.3 3.3 1.5 3.4 3.3 2.1 4.9 4.4 2.4 3.0 4.1 2.1 2.5 2.1 1.4 1.8 4.1 3.2 2.6 3.3 0.9 4.6 2.2 3.0 3.5 4.4 0.5 5.4 -1.9 3.5 0.9 1.7 0.1 2.5 -1.5 5.9 2.8 5.0 -0.1 6.5 0.8 4.3 0.2 1.7 2.1 2.2 1.1 United States 2.7 2.0 2.2 3.5 6.6 1.7 5.9 4.8 Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 2.1 3.1 8.7 6.4 2.0 2.0 1.3 1.4 4.7 8.8 8.1 2.6 2.9 -0.4 1.8 4.8 13.2 7.0 2.5 -0.2 2.6 2.8 0.9 5.9 4.9 1.3 2.6 1.8 5.0 5.5 11.3 6.0 2.7 5.0 4.5 1.2 6.1 6.8 4.5 0.0 2.7 -0.3 6.5 4.1 6.6 6.6 4.6 2.1 5.5 3.9 -6.7 -7.2 3.9 2.6 5.1 3.9 Output Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom 0.8 2.2 2.2 0.6 2.5 0.8 0.2 1.7 1.8 0.6 2.2 -1.2 2.3 3.9 3.1 -1.6 1.2 3.4 0.2 1.5 1.9 1.9 3.6 0.6 0.2 4.9 3.5 2.1 12.5 1.5 -1.3 -0.5 0.5 1.1 2.2 0.4 3.6 3.5 5.3 2.8 5.5 1.3 5.2 1.9 2.2 2.8 4.4 0.4 Continued on next page - 8 - Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-98 Average annual rates of change 1/ Country or area 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998 United States -0.3 -1.2 0.0 0.1 0.4 -0.4 1.8 0.1 Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 0.2 -0.4 NA NA -1.6 NA -2.1 -0.8 1.1 NA NA -3.2 0.8 -3.2 0.6 0.5 NA NA 0.4 -0.6 -0.8 0.8 -2.0 NA NA -1.7 NA -2.0 2.4 -1.8 NA NA -1.7 NA -0.9 2.7 0.2 NA NA -1.3 NA -0.7 3.0 -0.8 NA NA -1.4 NA -1.6 3.2 -5.9 NA NA 1.9 NA 0.5 Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom -1.8 -1.1 -1.1 -0.9 -0.8 -2.5 -1.9 -3.1 -2.5 -1.8 -0.8 -5.1 0.2 1.3 1.0 -2.9 -0.5 -0.6 -2.9 -1.0 -1.3 1.0 -1.0 -1.6 -2.7 1.3 -0.9 1.5 6.7 3.4 -4.7 -1.4 -1.2 1.0 -0.3 1.9 -2.2 0.7 0.3 3.0 -1.0 0.5 0.8 1.7 0.4 0.7 2.2 -0.7 -0.6 -1.4 -0.1 -0.2 1.1 -0.3 1.0 0.5 0.1 0.2 -0.8 1.2 0.4 0.8 0.5 -0.9 2.9 -2.5 1.4 -0.6 2.8 -0.1 3.7 -3.9 Total hours Employment United States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France NA NA -1.5 0.1 -1.7 NA NA -2.6 1.0 -2.2 NA NA -0.3 -0.2 -0.9 NA NA -1.5 -0.3 -1.9 NA NA -0.6 2.4 -0.3 NA NA -1.7 -0.3 -0.9 NA NA -1.5 1.6 -1.4 NA NA 1.7 2.3 0.2 Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom -1.1 -1.2 -0.9 -0.9 -1.4 -2.4 -1.1 -2.9 -2.2 -1.8 -1.2 -4.8 1.1 0.3 1.2 -2.7 -0.8 -0.8 -2.4 -0.9 -1.2 0.9 -2.1 -1.6 -2.2 1.2 -1.2 2.4 4.8 2.5 -3.1 -0.6 -1.1 1.6 -0.7 1.8 -2.3 0.3 0.7 3.4 -1.1 0.5 -0.2 1.9 0.6 0.6 2.3 -0.4 Continued on next page - 9 - Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-98 Average annual rates of change 1/ Country or area 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3 -0.7 -0.1 0.7 -0.4 Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 0.2 -0.6 NA NA -0.1 NA -0.4 0.0 0.0 NA NA -0.6 -0.3 -1.1 0.2 -0.3 NA NA 0.7 -0.5 0.1 0.3 -1.1 NA NA -0.1 NA -0.1 -0.5 0.7 NA NA -1.1 NA -0.6 1.3 0.8 NA NA 0.4 NA 0.1 0.2 -0.6 NA NA 0.1 NA -0.2 -0.6 -2.1 NA NA 0.2 NA 0.2 Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom -0.7 0.2 -0.2 -0.1 0.6 0.0 -0.8 -0.1 -0.3 0.0 0.4 -0.3 -0.9 1.0 -0.2 -0.2 0.3 0.2 -0.5 -0.1 -0.1 0.0 1.1 0.0 -0.5 0.1 0.3 -0.9 1.8 0.9 -1.6 -0.8 -0.1 -0.6 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.4 -0.4 -0.4 0.1 0.0 1.1 -0.2 -0.2 0.0 -0.1 -0.3 Average hours United States Labor compensation in manufacturing 3/: National currency basis United States 4.4 5.8 3.9 3.6 2.6 1.0 5.5 5.4 5.3 3.6 14.8 10.1 3.2 5.1 4.1 7.5 5.9 18.9 15.9 4.7 9.0 9.1 5.7 5.1 20.0 10.7 4.0 4.6 3.6 3.5 1.1 8.9 5.5 1.5 2.7 0.8 5.7 0.7 23.8 6.1 1.1 5.9 1.6 1.9 1.6 12.2 4.2 1.3 1.5 1.0 6.9 1.9 -2.2 5.0 1.3 5.6 0.9 7.2 -4.4 -14.4 2.7 2.7 3.1 1.9 3.3 7.9 2.4 5.9 6.1 5.3 4.0 13.1 2.3 8.0 8.7 5.9 5.2 8.3 3.1 4.7 7.9 8.1 1.5 3.9 2.0 5.0 3.1 3.1 2.4 6.0 1.4 6.1 12.1 4.3 0.2 5.7 1.1 5.1 6.5 2.7 0.1 4.9 2.6 8.0 3.3 3.6 1.7 0.8 2.6 6.8 5.0 5.0 Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom Continued on next page - 10 - Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-98 Average annual rates of change 1/ Country or area Hourly compensation 3/: 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998 National currency basis United States 4.7 7.2 3.9 3.5 2.1 1.3 3.7 5.3 Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 5.1 4.0 NA NA 4.9 NA 6.3 8.4 4.7 NA NA 8.1 8.1 12.8 5.1 4.6 NA NA 3.7 5.3 4.5 2.7 3.1 NA NA 3.2 NA 2.9 3.2 2.6 NA NA 2.9 NA 2.5 -0.7 1.4 NA NA 2.6 NA 1.7 3.7 2.7 NA NA 2.8 NA 2.6 3.9 1.7 NA NA 0.8 NA 1.4 Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom Unit labor costs: 5.1 9.1 3.5 6.9 7.0 8.0 6.0 16.7 5.0 10.0 9.6 11.6 5.0 6.8 2.1 7.8 8.5 8.8 4.5 5.0 3.4 4.0 4.2 4.8 5.3 4.6 2.2 4.6 5.0 0.8 5.1 7.2 2.3 4.1 6.8 0.7 2.3 4.2 2.3 4.8 4.3 3.0 0.8 -0.9 2.2 6.1 2.7 5.7 National currency basis United States 1.6 3.7 1.7 0.1 -3.8 -0.7 -0.3 0.5 Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 3.1 0.5 5.6 3.5 1.1 3.1 2.8 5.9 1.2 9.2 7.3 2.0 5.9 9.5 3.8 0.3 6.0 3.5 1.5 4.8 1.0 0.7 0.2 2.8 0.6 0.2 0.1 -1.0 0.7 -4.5 11.3 0.1 -1.5 0.9 -2.8 0.7 -4.3 5.1 -0.2 1.3 -1.2 1.3 0.4 -2.1 -8.3 -1.5 -3.1 3.4 -4.3 3.2 2.5 -7.7 -1.1 0.1 -2.0 -1.9 Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom 2.5 5.6 0.2 5.3 3.5 4.5 3.8 11.2 0.5 7.4 6.4 7.2 2.8 4.2 0.0 6.4 6.6 4.5 1.3 2.3 0.1 3.0 -0.4 2.6 2.2 1.1 -2.1 4.0 -0.3 2.7 1.6 6.2 0.6 4.0 4.2 2.3 -3.4 1.3 -2.5 5.0 -2.1 2.2 -3.3 -1.1 0.4 3.9 0.6 4.6 Continued on next page - 11 - Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-98 Average annual rates of change 1/ Country or area Unit labor costs: 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998 U.S. dollar basis United States 1.6 3.7 1.7 0.1 -3.8 -0.7 -0.3 0.5 Canada Japan 1.9 3.2 3.3 -0.3 7.1 10.8 -2.3 1.4 0.2 3.8 1.3 -17.3 -1.2 -12.0 -3.7 -5.3 Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France -0.1 3.8 0.0 1.8 1.0 -0.8 5.5 -9.3 -5.8 -3.3 10.2 12.0 13.8 16.7 11.6 -5.6 -2.1 -0.8 -0.9 -2.0 16.2 -0.1 11.7 14.5 8.2 0.8 -3.7 -3.6 -4.6 -1.3 -22.3 -6.0 -16.2 -9.3 -16.2 -37.4 -15.2 -1.3 -3.3 -2.9 2.7 1.6 0.3 3.1 0.2 3.2 -4.1 -3.2 -7.6 -1.7 -5.2 -1.3 15.9 14.4 12.8 13.3 14.8 11.4 0.3 -2.3 -1.0 0.6 -4.0 1.6 15.7 0.0 11.0 15.8 7.7 5.9 -3.3 12.2 -4.3 2.0 10.9 1.1 -16.2 -8.2 -15.8 -4.3 -14.1 7.3 -4.7 -3.0 -1.2 -2.5 -3.3 5.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France -1.2 2.7 -5.4 0.4 -1.1 -1.3 -1.7 -2.5 -1.5 -9.2 -1.7 -11.1 -11.0 -11.7 3.2 10.5 3.9 8.2 12.2 11.4 10.5 -3.0 1.3 -8.1 -2.7 -1.0 -1.0 -1.0 -0.4 8.7 4.4 -0.1 13.4 13.5 11.2 0.6 -13.6 -4.0 -3.5 -4.8 -3.5 -2.5 -1.5 -10.1 -15.3 -4.5 -13.5 -12.2 -12.4 -6.7 -7.6 -32.1 -14.2 -1.4 -1.4 -1.0 Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom 0.2 -3.8 0.1 -2.1 -3.2 -1.3 -7.6 -12.9 -8.0 -8.4 -11.0 -7.9 12.7 9.8 12.7 6.6 7.8 6.6 -1.1 -4.5 -1.1 -2.3 -3.6 -0.9 13.2 -1.1 13.4 11.4 8.1 3.0 -4.8 5.6 -4.9 -1.9 6.4 -1.1 -13.3 -9.5 -13.6 -8.8 -12.2 4.9 -1.4 -1.9 -1.6 -6.2 -3.9 1.2 Germany 2/ Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom Exchange rates 4/ United States 1/ Rates of change based on the compound rate method. 3/ Adjusted to include employment taxes 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 the U.S. dollar. NA = Not available. - 12 Trade-weighted unit labor costs Because the economies covered differ greatly in their relative importance to U.S. trade in manufactured goods, BLS constructs indexes of U.S. unit labor cost trends relative to a trade-weighted average of unit labor cost trends in the other economies. (See chart 3.) PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT Chart 3. U.S. manufacturing unit labor costs relative to 13 competitors, 1979-98 The construction of the indexes shown in chart 3 is a three-step process. First, the indexes of unit labor costs for all economies are rebased to a common year (in this case, 1979=100). Second, for each year, a "competitors" index is calculated as the weighted geometric mean of the indexes for all competitor economies. Finally, the U.S. index number for each year is divided by the "competitors" index number (and multiplied by 100) to obtain a relative ratio of the United States to the competitors. This process is used to calculate the relative trade-weighted unit labor cost indexes on both a national currency and a U.S. dollar basis. In chart 3, the solid line indicates that U.S. unit labor costs rose faster than "competitors" costs between 1979 and 1985 on a U.S. dollar basis. In most years between 1985 and 1995, U.S. costs either rose at a slower rate than the "competitors" costs or fell at a faster rate. Since 1995, however, the strength of the U.S. dollar has once again caused relative U.S. unit labor costs to rise. The data underlying this chart are shown in table C. - 13 - Table C. U.S. manufacturing unit labor costs relative to 13 competitors, 1979-98 Year 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Unit Labor Costs National Currency Basis Own Competitors Index Index Ratio 100.0 112.3 117.6 125.2 122.9 122.3 100.0 111.9 120.9 129.2 131.2 131.8 100.0 100.4 97.3 96.9 93.6 92.8 Unit Labor Costs U.S. Dollar Basis Own Competitors Index Index 100.0 112.3 117.6 125.2 122.9 122.3 100.0 110.2 109.6 106.2 104.8 99.3 Ratio 100.0 101.9 107.3 117.8 117.3 123.1 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 124.4 129.2 124.4 124.6 129.7 135.0 141.3 145.4 146.4 141.9 136.5 135.5 135.1 135.8 133.1 138.5 140.6 141.8 145.5 151.5 158.1 162.6 165.2 163.4 162.9 162.8 160.3 161.7 93.5 93.3 88.5 87.9 89.1 89.1 89.4 89.4 88.6 86.8 83.8 83.2 84.3 84.0 124.4 129.2 124.4 124.6 129.7 135.0 141.3 145.4 146.4 141.9 136.5 135.5 135.1 135.8 97.2 121.7 139.7 152.1 151.8 163.4 173.1 181.4 179.8 180.6 190.2 180.6 164.3 154.1 127.9 106.2 89.0 81.9 85.5 82.6 81.7 80.1 81.4 78.6 71.8 75.0 82.2 88.1 - 17 Table 1. Output per hour in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Indexes: 1992=100) United States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 1950 NA 28.0 NA NA NA NA 22.6 13.2 13.2 1955 NA 34.4 8.7 NA NA NA 24.6 16.7 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 40.7 42.9 46.3 48.2 50.4 52.9 53.8 54.3 57.6 60.6 14.0 15.8 16.6 18.0 20.4 21.2 23.3 26.3 29.5 33.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 18.0 18.2 19.2 19.9 21.2 22.3 23.8 25.1 27.3 29.9 29.9 31.6 33.2 34.3 37.1 38.9 40.8 43.8 47.8 49.8 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 59.2 62.7 65.7 69.6 70.8 68.2 73.1 38.0 40.2 44.1 48.1 49.3 50.7 53.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 32.9 35.1 39.2 43.5 45.8 47.6 52.4 52.7 56.3 60.8 66.9 69.1 76.1 78.8 Year Kingdom Former W.Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United 11.2 11.3 24.5 19.7 25.5 19.7 15.7 14.4 28.5 21.6 27.5 21.8 23.2 24.7 26.0 28.1 30.0 32.5 34.5 38.1 40.6 29.2 30.6 32.8 34.1 37.1 39.3 40.9 43.4 47.0 50.4 19.6 21.2 23.5 24.1 24.4 27.1 29.5 31.0 33.4 34.6 18.6 19.6 20.4 21.2 23.1 24.7 26.3 28.3 31.8 34.9 36.7 38.0 38.0 40.0 42.2 44.7 46.6 48.3 51.3 56.1 27.6 29.0 31.3 33.1 36.0 38.7 40.3 43.7 47.8 51.5 31.2 31.2 31.9 33.6 35.8 36.9 38.1 39.9 42.7 43.7 43.1 45.6 47.7 51.0 52.2 54.0 57.3 52.0 54.0 57.4 61.1 63.2 65.9 70.6 36.8 37.4 40.6 44.0 46.8 45.2 51.5 38.1 40.4 43.6 48.3 51.9 51.2 56.8 57.8 60.1 63.6 67.6 70.6 69.7 71.9 52.8 55.1 57.9 62.1 64.8 65.8 66.8 44.7 46.8 49.5 53.0 53.9 52.8 55.0 1977 1978 1979 70.6 71.1 72.1 77.1 78.5 78.4 55.9 58.1 62.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA 55.0 58.3 61.4 80.4 81.6 85.6 60.7 63.4 66.3 72.7 75.2 78.4 52.5 55.9 61.3 61.4 65.4 68.6 71.5 72.8 78.1 65.8 67.6 72.9 55.5 56.3 56.7 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 71.9 75.5 77.8 81.4 84.6 87.8 88.3 94.4 98.0 97.1 75.3 77.1 75.3 79.8 86.6 89.8 89.3 91.3 91.1 92.4 63.9 66.0 68.7 69.6 71.9 77.3 76.9 81.2 84.8 89.5 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 65.4 70.1 73.5 81.0 85.0 87.0 87.8 88.9 92.0 96.9 90.3 91.8 92.1 96.6 96.1 96.7 91.1 90.6 94.1 99.6 66.7 68.6 73.4 75.0 76.1 79.1 80.4 81.8 87.4 91.9 77.2 78.7 78.8 82.6 85.4 89.1 89.6 88.1 91.5 94.6 64.1 65.6 66.8 70.4 77.3 81.6 82.7 85.1 86.7 89.4 69.2 70.8 72.1 77.8 85.4 89.0 90.8 91.6 93.7 97.1 76.7 76.5 79.7 82.4 87.4 90.2 89.0 93.3 92.1 94.6 74.0 73.5 76.7 81.8 85.6 87.1 88.5 90.1 90.8 93.8 56.1 59.0 62.3 67.1 70.7 72.3 74.8 79.4 82.3 86.2 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 97.8 98.3 100.0 102.1 108.3 114.9 117.3 122.1 127.9 95.3 95.1 100.0 102.5 106.2 108.9 107.3 111.0 111.7 95.4 99.4 100.0 100.5 101.8 109.3 115.8 121.4 120.4 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 96.8 99.1 100.0 102.5 108.4 113.2 114.7 121.8 122.6 99.1 99.6 100.0 104.5 NA NA NA NA NA 93.5 96.9 100.0 100.6 108.5 114.4 114.9 123.2 127.4 99.0 101.9 100.0 100.6 107.9 111.2 115.1 121.8 127.1 92.5 95.2 100.0 102.9 105.6 109.3 110.3 113.4 113.6 98.6 99.6 100.0 101.4 112.7 117.7 119.7 125.7 127.8 96.6 97.5 100.0 100.6 101.4 102.0 102.0 101.9 104.1 95.0 95.0 100.0 106.7 116.1 122.4 125.4 133.6 136.5 88.3 92.2 100.0 104.0 106.8 104.8 103.2 104.0 105.1 Netherlands Norway Sweden NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries. Source: - 18 - U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Table 2. Output per employed person in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Indexes: 1992=100) United States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 1950 NA 30.0 NA NA NA NA 31.8 16.2 19.2 12.4 14.7 32.0 25.6 29.6 1955 NA 35.6 10.4 NA NA NA 34.0 20.3 28.8 17.7 18.9 37.3 27.9 32.3 1960 1961 NA NA 41.8 43.9 17.3 19.3 NA NA NA NA 22.6 22.9 39.2 40.2 26.6 28.3 38.4 39.6 22.4 24.0 24.5 24.8 46.2 47.2 33.7 35.1 35.9 35.5 Year Kingdom Former W.Germany Italy United 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 47.7 49.8 52.3 54.9 55.4 56.0 59.3 62.0 19.8 21.2 24.0 24.5 27.0 30.6 34.2 38.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 24.1 25.0 26.5 27.4 29.1 30.3 33.0 35.7 42.6 43.3 47.2 49.5 51.0 54.1 57.7 59.3 30.1 31.8 34.0 36.1 39.2 41.2 44.3 48.2 41.3 42.4 46.1 48.7 50.0 51.7 56.6 60.7 25.7 26.5 26.8 28.9 31.7 33.8 36.4 37.5 25.6 26.5 28.7 30.5 32.4 34.7 38.2 41.4 47.0 49.2 52.3 54.1 56.6 58.1 60.1 64.3 37.5 39.3 42.3 45.1 47.0 50.1 53.6 56.8 35.9 37.8 40.6 41.2 41.8 43.4 46.9 48.1 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 69.2 69.8 70.3 60.3 63.7 66.7 70.2 70.9 67.4 72.4 76.3 78.1 77.8 43.0 44.8 48.9 52.8 52.0 52.2 57.0 59.4 62.0 67.5 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 38.3 40.2 43.9 47.6 48.7 48.0 53.8 56.1 59.4 62.6 60.8 64.6 68.4 71.2 75.0 79.9 83.2 84.1 84.3 88.4 50.5 53.0 54.9 57.8 58.3 58.6 62.4 65.5 67.8 70.8 62.4 63.4 66.6 70.4 71.4 72.5 79.9 81.1 82.8 86.0 39.2 38.7 41.7 45.7 46.9 44.6 50.7 51.5 54.7 59.5 44.4 46.5 49.5 53.8 56.0 54.2 60.0 64.6 68.2 70.7 65.7 67.6 70.6 74.6 76.9 75.6 76.0 74.4 73.9 78.0 58.1 60.5 61.8 65.2 67.3 67.0 67.2 65.6 65.7 69.8 48.4 49.5 51.8 56.2 55.3 54.0 56.8 57.7 58.2 58.4 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 69.3 72.7 73.6 79.1 83.5 86.6 87.1 93.5 98.0 97.2 74.0 75.8 73.6 79.1 85.8 89.2 88.9 91.5 93.0 93.5 68.6 70.3 73.0 74.0 77.3 82.8 81.9 86.7 91.7 95.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 65.6 68.7 73.7 79.2 82.5 85.7 86.5 88.4 93.0 97.5 93.9 94.3 96.0 102.1 101.2 98.4 94.9 92.2 95.8 100.2 71.2 72.3 74.2 75.5 76.8 79.2 80.7 82.6 88.5 92.9 83.5 84.1 83.7 87.9 90.9 93.1 93.0 91.3 94.4 96.2 62.4 63.8 64.8 68.3 75.0 78.6 81.6 85.5 90.1 92.7 71.8 73.8 75.9 82.1 88.8 90.2 91.5 91.9 94.7 97.6 77.1 76.9 79.4 82.5 87.4 89.8 88.7 90.7 90.3 93.3 70.1 70.1 73.4 79.2 84.4 85.2 86.3 88.9 89.4 92.1 55.9 57.9 61.7 66.7 70.8 73.1 75.8 80.1 85.0 88.1 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 97.2 97.0 100.0 103.4 110.7 116.7 119.1 124.8 130.1 95.7 94.9 100.0 103.9 108.3 110.5 110.3 114.3 114.4 100.5 102.5 100.0 98.1 99.5 107.6 114.9 119.7 116.2 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 98.5 99.2 100.0 100.9 109.7 113.3 115.3 122.5 123.5 98.4 99.3 100.0 103.6 114.0 116.9 120.4 121.0 124.4 94.1 96.4 100.0 100.5 108.5 113.8 114.5 122.5 127.0 98.8 101.0 100.0 97.6 104.7 107.3 109.3 116.0 122.3 93.6 95.3 100.0 100.9 106.4 110.2 110.3 113.8 113.8 99.1 99.8 100.0 101.4 112.7 118.1 119.9 125.4 127.3 95.1 96.4 100.0 100.9 102.0 101.6 101.1 100.6 102.7 94.3 94.3 100.0 109.5 122.7 131.7 135.5 144.5 147.5 90.0 93.0 100.0 103.8 108.1 107.0 105.6 106.5 107.3 NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries. Source: - 19 - U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Table 3. Output in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Indexes: 1992=100) United States Canada 1950 NA 22.6 1955 NA 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Year Kingdom Japan Former W.Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden 9.4 16.8 38.2 31.2 49.8 27.5 14.5 23.0 46.7 36.1 58.5 31.0 33.3 35.7 38.4 42.0 44.1 48.1 50.4 53.2 59.6 41.5 44.0 46.2 47.1 51.2 55.0 55.9 54.7 60.3 67.4 21.4 23.6 26.1 27.8 28.2 29.6 32.3 35.5 38.9 41.4 31.7 32.8 34.5 35.9 39.3 42.1 44.3 46.1 50.4 55.3 56.5 58.8 59.3 62.9 67.3 70.9 75.1 77.5 79.4 85.2 46.5 49.6 53.4 56.0 61.0 65.3 67.1 69.3 72.9 78.6 67.7 67.8 68.0 70.4 76.8 79.0 80.4 80.9 86.6 89.9 68.0 69.4 75.3 79.5 80.7 78.7 82.5 82.9 82.7 87.4 64.1 68.1 71.3 76.7 78.2 76.6 81.1 84.8 86.8 89.3 70.9 71.6 73.8 78.5 77.7 74.1 79.8 81.3 82.8 87.1 44.7 45.3 47.8 54.0 57.4 54.1 62.2 64.4 67.5 74.6 59.5 61.5 63.2 67.7 70.2 65.6 69.6 73.1 75.4 77.3 89.1 92.3 96.7 102.2 107.3 105.0 105.2 103.0 100.6 104.7 81.7 82.2 82.7 88.5 93.3 93.6 93.6 88.3 85.9 91.4 90.3 89.3 91.2 99.6 98.3 91.6 93.3 95.1 95.6 95.4 91.3 88.4 89.8 95.8 100.3 103.5 103.5 99.3 100.8 104.3 88.7 87.3 88.2 88.0 87.0 87.3 87.3 87.2 92.2 97.2 85.3 84.4 81.5 82.7 85.2 88.3 89.7 88.0 90.9 94.0 78.4 76.8 75.7 76.3 79.8 82.4 84.5 88.2 94.5 98.1 77.4 77.5 76.7 79.1 83.6 86.1 88.3 89.5 92.8 96.9 103.6 101.7 101.3 99.9 104.7 108.5 108.1 110.7 105.3 101.3 91.8 88.9 89.8 95.0 101.7 103.9 105.2 107.7 110.2 111.6 87.2 81.8 81.7 83.4 86.5 89.0 90.1 94.4 101.4 105.4 Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 2.2 NA NA NA 26.8 18.4 14.5 29.3 4.9 NA NA NA 29.4 22.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 34.2 35.6 39.7 42.4 46.5 51.0 54.4 55.5 59.1 63.1 10.7 12.8 13.9 15.5 18.0 18.7 21.2 25.4 29.3 34.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 30.7 32.1 34.6 36.2 39.5 40.8 43.2 43.7 46.7 52.2 40.8 43.0 46.7 47.3 52.9 56.3 57.5 58.1 62.6 66.0 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 74.9 78.7 81.3 60.5 64.3 69.7 76.8 78.7 73.0 78.9 81.5 86.1 89.5 38.8 40.7 44.4 50.0 48.7 46.2 50.2 51.8 53.3 57.9 6.3 7.5 8.6 11.1 13.0 14.3 18.1 20.9 25.5 28.1 13.2 16.2 19.5 22.9 21.7 22.6 27.7 31.2 37.7 40.7 57.6 60.1 64.7 70.6 73.4 67.9 73.0 73.3 74.3 76.2 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 77.3 80.7 76.2 80.5 89.1 91.8 91.0 97.9 104.5 104.0 85.4 87.5 77.7 81.8 92.7 97.5 98.6 103.2 109.3 110.8 59.9 62.1 64.1 66.1 70.4 76.1 74.9 78.4 84.6 90.2 27.7 30.5 32.6 37.6 42.3 46.7 55.7 66.6 75.8 79.0 44.7 48.1 49.1 54.8 62.7 64.8 74.6 84.4 87.9 91.2 78.2 77.2 80.4 84.6 87.2 89.1 89.1 88.8 93.3 99.1 United 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 NA: 102.5 98.7 100.0 103.5 112.2 119.6 121.6 128.8 135.0 106.6 98.8 100.0 105.1 113.2 118.8 120.2 128.0 133.0 96.3 101.4 100.0 96.0 95.4 100.6 106.7 111.1 103.6 86.7 95.0 100.0 105.4 116.8 129.9 138.7 147.8 137.2 90.8 96.9 100.0 102.5 108.4 114.9 120.0 128.0 133.0 101.0 100.7 100.0 97.0 101.4 104.2 104.2 109.0 111.8 102.7 101.7 100.0 99.0 109.3 114.7 117.8 120.3 126.5 99.1 99.8 100.0 95.7 100.3 104.8 104.5 110.2 114.6 99.1 102.8 100.0 91.8 93.5 93.7 92.5 95.8 100.7 99.6 99.2 100.0 96.4 102.2 107.2 106.7 110.4 112.5 100.1 100.6 100.0 98.2 104.2 107.8 108.4 114.1 116.6 100.2 98.3 100.0 102.7 106.7 109.0 110.1 113.3 116.4 110.6 103.6 100.0 101.3 115.7 130.1 132.9 140.3 146.4 Netherlands Norway Sweden 105.3 100.0 100.0 101.4 106.1 107.8 108.2 109.6 110.0 Not Available Source: - 20 - U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Table 4. Total hours in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Indexes: 1992=100) United States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium 1950 85.5 80.7 NA NA NA 1955 94.6 85.1 55.9 NA 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 92.1 89.7 93.4 94.4 96.4 102.0 108.6 108.0 109.6 110.9 84.1 83.0 85.8 87.9 92.2 96.4 101.1 102.1 102.5 104.2 76.3 80.8 83.4 86.1 88.2 88.0 91.0 96.3 99.4 100.9 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 104.4 100.5 105.1 110.4 107.9 97.2 101.9 106.1 102.1 102.5 106.1 110.3 111.1 107.0 108.0 105.7 102.3 101.1 100.6 104.0 98.7 91.1 93.3 92.5 Year Kingdom Former W.Germany Italy United Denmark France NA 118.7 139.6 109.8 83.8 148.6 156.0 158.5 195.7 NA NA 119.8 137.7 139.6 92.8 159.1 164.1 167.3 213.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 170.7 175.9 180.3 181.8 186.5 183.2 181.5 173.6 170.9 174.9 136.5 136.2 140.7 138.0 142.6 144.9 140.8 132.7 130.9 132.7 142.1 143.5 144.5 147.6 149.4 146.6 148.0 145.9 139.5 146.8 142.3 143.9 140.8 138.1 138.0 140.0 136.7 125.9 128.3 133.8 109.0 111.2 111.1 115.3 115.6 109.1 109.7 114.8 116.4 119.5 170.6 167.1 169.2 169.5 170.0 170.4 168.3 162.7 158.8 158.5 154.0 154.8 156.2 157.3 159.5 158.4 161.1 160.4 154.9 152.0 168.3 171.0 170.8 169.1 169.6 168.8 166.5 158.4 152.6 152.5 217.3 217.4 213.2 209.6 214.6 214.3 211.2 203.0 202.8 205.6 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 174.7 171.4 165.2 162.1 160.4 142.6 139.4 133.3 129.0 123.3 123.8 118.8 116.7 103.5 104.7 103.1 148.7 149.4 149.6 150.3 149.9 142.0 141.6 139.8 136.3 132.5 128.7 128.4 122.9 112.5 113.1 111.8 121.2 121.0 117.9 122.7 122.8 119.6 120.9 122.6 156.2 152.4 144.9 140.2 135.4 128.2 122.7 119.1 154.3 153.6 152.1 151.2 152.0 150.5 146.2 144.1 154.7 149.1 142.9 142.5 144.0 142.3 140.2 134.2 202.1 190.6 184.3 187.8 182.4 173.6 169.5 171.2 1978 1979 110.6 112.7 109.7 114.2 91.6 92.0 NA NA NA NA 127.4 124.2 101.4 102.1 137.0 134.6 110.1 111.0 120.7 121.7 115.2 112.7 138.3 134.1 127.1 125.5 169.7 168.1 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 107.5 107.0 97.9 98.9 105.3 104.6 103.0 103.8 106.6 107.1 113.5 113.4 103.2 102.4 107.0 108.6 110.5 113.0 120.0 119.9 93.8 94.1 93.3 95.0 97.9 98.4 97.3 96.6 99.8 100.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 119.7 110.2 109.4 104.3 102.6 102.4 101.5 100.0 101.5 102.3 101.1 96.3 97.5 99.2 104.4 107.0 113.7 109.6 107.2 104.7 133.1 127.2 120.2 117.4 114.2 110.5 108.7 106.6 105.5 105.8 110.5 107.1 103.4 100.1 99.7 99.1 100.1 99.9 99.3 99.3 122.4 117.2 113.3 108.5 103.2 100.9 102.1 103.6 108.9 109.7 111.8 109.4 106.3 101.6 97.9 96.7 97.3 97.7 99.0 99.8 135.0 133.0 127.1 121.2 119.7 120.2 121.6 118.6 114.3 107.1 124.0 121.0 117.2 116.1 118.9 119.4 118.9 119.5 121.4 119.0 155.3 138.6 131.2 124.2 122.4 123.1 120.4 118.9 123.2 122.3 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 104.8 100.4 100.0 101.4 103.6 104.0 103.7 105.5 105.6 111.9 103.8 100.0 102.6 106.6 109.1 112.0 115.4 119.0 100.9 102.0 100.0 95.6 93.7 92.0 92.2 91.5 86.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 104.3 101.5 100.0 94.7 93.6 92.0 90.8 89.5 91.2 103.7 102.1 100.0 94.8 NA NA NA NA NA 105.9 103.0 100.0 95.1 92.4 91.6 91.0 89.5 89.9 100.1 100.9 100.0 91.3 86.7 84.3 80.4 78.6 79.3 107.7 104.2 100.0 93.6 96.7 98.0 96.7 97.4 99.0 101.5 101.0 100.0 96.9 92.4 91.6 90.5 90.8 91.2 103.7 100.8 100.0 102.1 105.2 106.9 107.9 111.1 111.9 116.4 109.0 100.0 94.9 99.6 106.3 106.0 105.0 107.3 119.2 108.5 100.0 97.5 99.4 102.9 104.8 105.4 104.7 Netherlands Norway Sweden NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries. Source: - 21 - U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Table 5. Employment in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Indexes: 1992=100) United States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 1950 84.3 75.1 NA NA NA NA 84.4 113.4 75.2 76.0 114.1 119.3 122.0 168.4 1955 93.1 82.3 47.1 NA NA NA 86.7 113.0 95.5 82.1 121.8 125.2 129.7 181.1 1960 1961 1962 92.6 90.0 92.8 81.9 81.2 83.3 61.7 66.4 70.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA 135.7 140.1 143.3 104.1 107.0 109.7 116.6 117.4 118.5 108.1 111.3 111.8 95.4 98.4 101.5 129.4 132.2 134.7 122.2 124.8 126.3 137.8 141.3 142.2 188.5 191.1 189.4 Year Kingdom Former W.Germany Italy United 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 93.5 94.9 99.3 105.4 106.7 108.5 110.6 85.1 88.9 93.0 98.2 99.1 99.7 101.7 72.8 75.0 76.1 78.3 82.8 85.7 88.2 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 144.7 148.8 148.7 148.5 143.9 141.5 146.3 109.3 112.0 113.9 112.8 107.5 108.5 111.4 121.1 123.3 122.2 122.8 122.3 120.3 123.7 111.0 111.0 113.0 111.8 105.8 106.6 111.0 104.8 105.1 102.6 102.0 105.3 106.7 110.4 135.4 137.1 137.9 137.0 132.9 132.1 133.7 127.8 128.8 130.9 132.8 133.5 132.0 132.6 142.4 144.3 144.8 143.0 138.3 136.0 138.4 186.4 189.2 191.7 192.2 186.3 184.5 187.1 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 106.3 102.2 105.0 110.5 110.1 100.6 104.2 108.2 112.7 115.6 100.3 101.1 104.5 109.4 111.0 108.3 109.1 106.9 110.2 115.1 90.3 90.7 90.8 94.6 93.7 88.5 88.0 87.1 85.9 85.7 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 150.2 149.6 147.4 148.4 150.7 141.5 135.8 130.5 125.0 121.8 111.9 107.3 110.1 111.6 107.6 98.5 99.2 98.5 98.0 98.8 126.9 128.5 129.9 132.6 134.0 130.7 130.0 129.5 128.0 126.1 113.6 112.9 110.8 111.5 108.9 102.2 99.9 100.3 100.0 101.2 114.0 117.0 114.8 118.1 122.4 121.4 122.7 125.0 123.5 125.4 134.3 132.2 127.5 125.8 125.4 121.0 116.0 113.1 110.5 109.3 135.6 136.4 136.9 136.9 139.5 138.7 138.4 138.5 136.1 134.2 140.6 135.9 133.8 135.8 138.7 139.8 139.4 134.5 130.7 131.0 186.7 180.4 176.1 177.2 177.8 169.7 164.3 164.8 164.2 163.2 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 111.6 111.0 103.5 101.8 106.8 106.0 104.5 104.7 106.6 107.0 115.5 115.4 105.7 103.4 108.0 109.4 110.8 112.7 117.6 118.6 87.4 88.3 87.9 89.3 91.1 91.9 91.4 90.4 92.4 94.3 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 119.3 112.4 109.2 106.8 105.7 104.0 103.0 100.5 100.4 101.7 97.2 93.8 93.6 93.9 99.1 105.2 109.1 107.7 105.3 104.1 124.6 120.7 118.9 116.6 113.3 110.2 108.3 105.6 104.1 104.7 102.2 100.3 97.4 94.1 93.7 94.9 96.4 96.4 96.3 97.6 125.8 120.4 116.7 111.8 106.4 104.8 103.5 103.1 104.8 105.8 107.8 105.0 101.0 96.4 94.2 95.4 96.5 97.4 98.0 99.3 134.5 132.3 127.5 121.0 119.8 120.7 122.0 122.0 116.6 108.7 130.9 127.0 122.4 119.9 120.5 122.0 121.9 121.1 123.3 121.2 155.9 141.2 132.5 125.1 122.2 121.7 118.9 117.9 119.3 119.7 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 105.4 101.8 100.0 100.1 101.3 102.5 102.2 103.2 103.8 111.4 104.0 100.0 101.2 104.5 107.5 109.0 112.0 116.2 95.8 98.9 100.0 97.9 95.9 93.5 92.9 92.8 89.2 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 102.5 101.5 100.0 96.1 92.5 91.9 90.3 89.0 90.5 104.3 102.4 100.0 95.5 95.8 98.1 97.8 99.4 101.6 105.4 103.6 100.0 95.2 92.4 92.1 91.3 90.0 90.2 100.3 101.8 100.0 94.0 89.3 87.3 84.6 82.6 82.4 106.4 104.1 100.0 95.5 96.0 97.2 96.7 96.9 98.8 101.1 100.7 100.0 96.9 92.4 91.3 90.3 91.0 91.5 105.4 101.9 100.0 101.8 104.7 107.2 108.9 112.6 113.3 117.2 109.9 100.0 92.6 94.2 98.8 98.1 97.1 99.3 116.9 107.5 100.0 97.7 98.2 100.7 102.5 102.9 102.6 NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. - 22 Table 6. Average annual hours in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Indexes: 1992=100) United States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium 1950 101.4 107.4 NA NA NA 1955 101.5 103.4 118.7 NA 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 99.5 99.6 100.6 100.9 101.6 102.7 103.0 101.2 101.0 100.2 102.7 102.2 103.0 103.3 103.7 103.7 103.0 103.1 102.8 102.5 123.5 121.6 119.2 118.2 117.6 115.6 116.2 116.3 116.0 114.4 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 98.2 98.4 100.0 99.9 98.0 96.6 97.7 98.1 98.1 97.5 101.8 101.5 101.5 100.8 100.1 98.9 99.0 98.9 99.6 99.2 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 96.3 96.4 94.6 97.2 98.6 98.7 98.6 99.1 100.0 100.0 98.3 98.3 97.6 99.1 99.1 99.3 99.6 100.3 102.1 101.1 Year Kingdom Former W.Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden 110.2 130.3 130.8 129.9 116.2 146.1 113.0 130.6 131.1 129.0 117.7 121.8 122.2 121.9 121.9 121.1 120.0 120.5 119.3 116.0 118.7 131.7 129.4 126.0 124.4 124.3 123.9 122.3 119.0 120.4 120.6 114.3 113.1 109.5 110.0 110.0 106.4 107.6 109.1 109.1 108.3 131.9 126.5 125.6 125.2 124.0 123.6 122.9 122.4 120.2 118.5 126.0 124.1 123.7 123.1 123.9 121.0 121.3 120.2 117.3 114.6 122.1 121.1 120.1 118.8 117.5 116.6 116.4 114.5 112.2 110.2 115.3 113.7 112.6 112.5 113.4 111.8 109.8 109.0 109.9 109.9 115.3 114.9 112.4 106.4 108.5 105.1 105.6 104.6 103.4 103.3 117.2 116.3 115.1 113.3 111.9 108.6 108.9 107.9 107.0 106.7 119.9 117.3 116.2 115.2 112.9 110.1 113.2 111.5 110.1 109.7 106.4 103.4 102.7 103.9 100.3 98.5 98.5 98.0 97.8 97.1 116.4 115.3 113.6 111.4 108.0 106.0 105.8 105.3 104.3 103.1 113.8 112.6 111.0 110.4 108.9 108.5 105.7 104.0 101.6 99.9 110.0 109.7 106.8 104.9 103.8 101.8 100.6 99.8 97.2 95.8 108.2 105.6 104.7 106.0 102.6 102.3 103.2 103.8 103.4 103.0 104.0 102.7 104.2 105.6 105.3 101.8 104.2 101.8 101.8 100.6 106.8 105.4 101.1 100.7 100.8 100.2 100.4 101.0 101.3 101.1 108.1 106.8 106.2 106.4 106.4 104.5 103.9 103.6 103.2 101.7 97.3 97.3 97.1 97.1 97.1 96.2 98.6 100.4 104.0 103.7 103.7 104.2 105.3 105.4 104.0 101.3 100.8 100.3 101.1 100.5 100.4 100.6 99.7 100.1 99.9 99.6 99.7 97.2 98.0 98.6 94.8 95.3 95.7 96.8 98.6 97.9 97.5 98.7 98.5 98.2 99.6 98.1 99.1 99.4 100.2 101.1 101.3 100.8 103.2 102.2 Denmark France NA 140.7 123.0 146.0 NA NA 138.2 121.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 125.8 125.5 125.8 125.7 125.3 123.2 122.2 120.7 120.7 119.5 131.2 127.3 128.3 126.3 127.4 127.2 124.8 123.4 120.6 119.1 113.3 111.4 110.8 109.9 105.3 103.0 106.0 106.2 106.7 107.3 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 116.3 114.6 112.0 109.3 106.4 100.7 102.6 102.1 101.9 102.0 107.3 106.5 106.2 106.4 107.4 107.1 106.5 106.8 108.0 106.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 100.4 98.1 100.2 97.7 97.1 98.5 98.6 99.4 101.1 100.6 United 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 NA: 99.4 98.7 100.0 101.3 102.2 101.5 101.5 102.2 101.8 100.4 99.8 100.0 101.4 102.0 101.5 102.8 103.0 102.4 105.3 103.2 100.0 97.7 97.7 98.4 99.2 98.6 96.5 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 101.8 100.0 100.0 98.5 101.2 100.1 100.5 100.6 100.7 99.4 99.7 100.0 99.2 NA NA NA NA NA 100.6 99.4 100.0 99.9 100.0 99.5 99.6 99.4 99.7 99.8 99.1 100.0 97.0 97.1 96.5 95.0 95.2 96.2 101.2 100.1 100.0 98.0 100.7 100.8 100.0 100.4 100.2 100.5 100.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.3 100.2 99.8 99.6 98.4 98.9 100.0 100.3 100.5 99.7 99.1 98.7 98.7 99.3 99.2 100.0 102.6 105.7 107.6 108.0 108.2 108.1 Netherlands Norway Sweden* 101.9 100.9 100.0 99.8 101.3 102.2 102.3 102.4 102.1 Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries. Source: - 23 - U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Table 7. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Indexes: 1992=100) United Year States Kingdom* Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Former W.Germany Italy United 1950 8.7 5.7 NA NA NA NA 2.5 1.6 3.4 0.8 3.1 2.2 1.9 1.6 1955 11.7 8.1 3.1 NA NA NA 3.4 2.8 5.0 1.2 4.5 3.4 3.0 2.3 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 14.9 15.3 15.9 16.4 17.0 17.4 18.2 19.2 20.7 22.2 10.4 10.7 11.1 11.6 12.1 12.8 13.7 14.4 15.4 16.6 4.3 5.0 5.7 6.4 7.2 8.1 9.0 10.0 11.7 13.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 5.4 5.7 6.2 6.8 7.7 8.5 9.4 10.3 11.0 12.1 4.6 5.2 5.6 6.1 6.6 7.4 8.4 9.4 10.3 11.6 4.3 4.7 5.2 5.7 6.2 6.7 7.1 7.6 8.6 9.2 8.1 9.1 10.3 11.0 11.9 13.1 14.2 15.0 16.1 17.6 1.6 1.7 2.1 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.3 3.5 3.8 6.4 7.3 7.8 8.6 9.9 11.1 12.5 13.8 15.4 17.4 4.7 5.2 5.7 6.1 6.5 7.2 7.8 8.7 9.6 10.6 4.1 4.5 5.0 5.6 6.1 6.7 7.3 8.1 8.8 9.6 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.2 4.5 4.7 5.0 5.5 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 23.7 25.2 26.5 28.5 31.6 35.5 17.8 18.8 20.2 21.9 25.4 29.1 16.5 19.0 21.9 26.8 35.1 40.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 13.7 15.9 18.8 22.3 27.4 33.1 13.3 15.2 16.9 20.5 24.8 29.6 10.3 11.6 12.8 14.7 17.4 21.3 20.7 23.2 25.6 29.0 33.0 36.4 4.7 5.4 6.0 7.1 9.3 11.7 20.2 23.1 26.5 31.6 37.7 43.1 11.8 13.5 15.1 17.0 19.9 23.8 10.8 12.1 13.5 15.2 17.8 21.9 6.3 7.2 8.3 9.5 11.4 15.1 1976 1977 1978 1979 38.4 41.8 45.2 49.6 33.3 37.0 39.7 43.2 44.0 48.6 51.8 55.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 38.3 41.4 44.4 47.2 33.0 36.5 40.2 45.0 24.4 27.7 31.2 35.4 39.1 42.8 45.9 49.3 14.5 17.2 19.8 24.0 48.1 52.5 56.8 61.1 27.5 30.9 34.1 35.8 25.6 28.0 31.2 33.6 17.6 19.8 23.1 27.5 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 55.6 61.1 67.0 68.8 71.2 75.1 78.5 80.7 84.0 86.6 47.7 53.3 59.9 63.7 66.1 69.9 72.5 75.3 77.8 82.5 58.6 62.7 65.8 67.6 69.7 72.5 76.1 77.9 79.2 84.2 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 52.5 57.3 59.9 65.7 71.4 75.3 77.3 79.7 81.1 85.9 49.6 54.6 59.5 63.6 67.2 71.7 73.2 80.1 82.9 87.7 40.8 47.2 56.1 61.9 67.2 72.8 75.8 78.6 81.6 86.0 53.6 57.0 60.4 63.1 66.0 70.0 72.8 76.0 79.1 83.2 28.2 34.1 40.2 47.0 53.9 60.6 63.1 66.7 69.3 75.9 64.4 67.4 71.5 74.9 77.7 81.8 85.0 87.8 87.7 88.5 39.0 43.3 48.2 52.9 57.9 63.4 69.1 78.5 83.3 87.2 37.4 41.3 44.3 48.8 53.0 58.4 63.1 67.3 71.7 79.4 33.2 38.5 42.4 45.5 49.1 53.1 57.6 64.8 67.7 72.9 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 90.8 95.6 100.0 102.7 105.6 107.9 109.3 113.4 119.4 89.5 94.7 100.0 99.6 100.4 103.6 102.8 106.7 110.8 90.7 95.9 100.0 104.6 106.7 109.5 110.9 113.9 115.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 90.1 97.3 100.0 104.8 106.1 109.2 112.0 115.2 116.0 92.7 95.9 100.0 104.6 NA NA NA NA NA 90.6 96.2 100.0 102.8 105.0 107.6 109.5 112.3 113.9 89.4 95.1 100.0 105.9 111.7 117.7 123.7 126.6 127.6 84.4 93.6 100.0 107.5 107.8 112.8 120.9 125.9 124.8 90.8 95.2 100.0 103.7 108.2 110.6 113.2 115.8 118.3 92.3 97.5 100.0 101.5 104.4 109.2 113.6 119.1 126.4 87.6 95.4 100.0 98.0 101.1 106.2 113.4 118.3 121.5 80.9 90.5 100.0 104.3 106.5 107.4 108.2 111.4 117.8 NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) 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: - 24 - U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Table 8. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Indexes: 1992=100) United Year States Kingdom* 1950 8.7 Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* 6.3 NA NA NA NA 2.2 2.4 Former W.Germany Italy 1.3 1.7 Netherlands Norway Sweden* United 1.4 1.9 2.1 2.5 1955 11.7 9.9 1.1 NA NA NA 3.0 4.3 1.9 2.4 2.1 2.9 3.3 3.6 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 14.9 15.3 15.9 16.4 17.0 17.4 18.2 19.2 20.7 22.2 13.0 12.7 12.5 13.0 13.5 14.3 15.4 16.2 17.3 18.6 1.5 1.8 2.0 2.3 2.5 2.8 3.1 3.5 4.1 4.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 3.5 3.7 4.0 4.4 5.0 5.5 6.1 6.7 7.1 7.7 4.0 4.5 4.9 5.4 5.8 6.4 7.3 8.1 8.3 9.3 4.6 5.1 5.6 6.1 6.6 7.2 7.6 8.2 9.2 9.4 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.3 4.7 5.1 5.5 5.9 6.3 7.0 3.1 3.5 4.1 4.8 5.1 5.5 5.9 6.5 6.9 7.5 3.0 3.5 3.8 4.2 4.8 5.4 6.1 6.7 7.5 8.5 4.1 4.5 4.9 5.3 5.6 6.2 6.8 7.6 8.4 9.2 4.7 5.1 5.7 6.3 6.9 7.6 8.3 9.2 10.0 10.8 4.9 5.2 5.5 5.7 6.1 6.6 7.2 7.3 6.8 7.4 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 23.7 25.2 26.5 28.5 31.6 35.5 38.4 41.8 45.2 49.6 20.6 22.5 24.6 26.4 31.4 34.6 40.8 42.0 42.1 44.5 5.8 6.9 9.2 12.5 15.3 17.5 18.8 23.0 31.5 32.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 8.9 10.5 13.7 18.5 22.6 29.0 31.9 37.1 45.4 51.7 10.7 12.4 14.7 20.5 24.6 31.1 32.9 36.7 44.1 51.6 9.9 11.1 13.4 17.5 19.2 26.3 27.0 29.8 36.7 44.0 8.9 10.4 12.6 17.1 19.9 23.1 24.3 28.8 35.8 42.0 9.2 10.7 12.7 15.0 17.6 22.1 21.6 24.0 28.8 35.6 9.8 11.6 14.5 20.0 24.7 30.1 32.0 37.6 46.2 53.5 10.3 11.9 14.2 18.4 22.4 28.4 31.3 36.0 40.4 43.9 12.1 13.8 16.6 20.3 23.5 30.8 34.2 36.5 40.2 45.7 8.6 10.0 11.8 13.2 15.1 19.0 17.9 19.6 25.1 33.0 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 55.6 61.1 67.0 68.8 71.2 75.1 78.5 80.7 84.0 86.6 49.2 53.7 58.6 62.5 61.7 61.8 63.0 68.6 76.4 84.1 32.8 36.1 33.5 36.1 37.2 38.5 57.3 68.3 78.4 77.3 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 57.7 49.5 42.1 41.3 39.7 40.8 55.6 68.6 70.9 70.1 53.2 46.2 43.0 42.0 39.2 40.9 54.6 70.6 74.3 72.3 51.1 46.0 45.1 43.0 40.7 42.9 57.9 69.2 72.5 71.4 46.1 39.3 38.8 38.6 36.3 37.2 52.4 66.0 70.4 69.1 40.5 36.9 36.5 38.1 37.8 39.1 52.1 63.3 65.5 68.1 57.0 47.4 47.1 46.1 42.6 43.3 61.1 76.2 78.0 73.4 49.0 46.9 46.4 45.0 44.1 45.8 58.1 72.3 79.3 78.4 51.5 47.5 41.1 37.1 37.3 39.5 51.6 61.8 68.1 71.6 43.7 44.1 42.0 39.0 37.2 39.0 47.8 60.2 68.3 67.7 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 90.8 95.6 100.0 102.7 105.6 107.9 109.3 113.4 119.4 92.7 99.9 100.0 93.3 88.8 91.2 91.1 93.1 90.3 79.3 90.3 100.0 119.3 132.4 147.7 129.3 119.3 112.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 86.6 91.5 100.0 97.4 102.1 119.1 116.3 103.4 102.7 90.4 90.5 100.0 97.4 NA NA NA NA NA 88.0 90.2 100.0 96.0 100.2 114.3 113.3 101.8 102.2 86.4 89.4 100.0 100.0 107.6 128.3 128.4 114.0 113.3 86.8 92.9 100.0 84.2 82.4 85.3 96.5 91.1 88.5 87.7 89.4 100.0 98.1 104.6 121.2 118.0 104.3 104.9 91.7 93.3 100.0 88.8 92.0 107.1 109.3 104.5 104.0 86.2 91.8 100.0 73.3 76.3 86.6 98.5 90.1 89.0 81.7 90.5 100.0 88.7 92.3 95.9 95.6 103.3 110.5 NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) 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: - 25 - U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Table 9. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Indexes: 1992=100) United Year States Kingdom* Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Former W.Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden* United 1950 NA 20.2 NA NA NA NA 11.0 12.2 25.5 7.5 27.5 9.0 9.5 6.3 1955 NA 23.4 36.1 NA NA NA 13.8 16.9 25.4 7.7 31.3 11.8 13.7 8.3 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 25.5 24.9 23.9 24.0 23.9 24.1 25.5 26.6 26.7 27.4 30.9 31.8 34.6 35.7 35.4 38.3 38.5 38.1 39.6 41.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 30.1 31.5 32.1 34.2 36.3 38.3 39.6 40.9 40.3 40.4 15.4 16.3 17.0 17.9 17.9 18.9 20.5 21.4 21.6 23.4 19.5 20.3 21.0 21.7 21.9 22.2 21.7 22.0 22.6 22.6 27.8 29.7 31.5 32.2 32.1 33.3 34.7 34.5 34.3 35.0 8.0 8.2 8.8 10.1 10.7 10.3 10.1 10.6 10.5 11.1 34.4 37.1 38.2 40.4 42.9 45.1 47.3 48.8 48.4 50.0 12.9 13.6 15.0 15.2 15.4 16.0 16.8 18.1 18.8 19.0 14.9 15.6 16.1 16.8 16.9 17.3 18.2 18.6 18.5 18.7 9.8 10.5 10.8 10.7 10.7 11.4 11.9 11.7 11.7 12.5 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 59.2 63.5 68.8 30.0 30.0 30.7 31.4 35.8 42.7 45.6 47.9 50.6 55.1 43.3 47.3 49.6 55.7 71.1 80.6 81.9 86.8 89.1 87.5 9.0 9.6 10.6 12.6 15.4 18.0 22.4 26.1 31.0 37.7 22.3 23.4 23.7 27.5 41.5 42.1 43.6 45.4 45.8 52.0 41.7 45.2 47.9 51.2 59.9 69.5 73.1 75.3 76.1 76.8 25.2 27.1 27.8 30.6 35.9 38.9 41.8 45.4 49.3 52.5 24.0 25.4 26.8 28.7 33.4 39.4 42.6 45.7 49.3 53.3 39.8 42.9 44.7 47.5 52.1 55.2 55.4 58.8 61.1 62.9 12.7 14.4 14.9 16.1 19.8 25.9 28.3 32.8 35.4 39.2 52.9 57.1 60.8 65.3 72.7 84.3 84.8 85.5 86.8 89.0 20.4 22.5 23.7 25.1 28.2 34.2 38.3 43.2 46.8 45.8 20.5 22.0 23.4 24.4 27.5 33.3 38.3 42.6 46.2 46.2 14.1 15.4 16.8 17.9 21.1 28.7 31.9 35.7 41.1 48.5 1980 1981 1982 77.2 80.9 86.1 63.3 69.1 79.5 91.7 95.1 95.8 47.9 55.1 58.2 60.1 69.8 74.5 80.3 81.7 81.5 55.0 59.5 64.6 61.2 68.9 76.5 69.4 72.4 76.7 44.0 51.9 60.1 93.0 95.1 99.2 50.8 56.6 60.5 50.6 56.1 57.8 59.1 65.3 68.1 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 84.5 84.1 85.5 88.8 85.5 85.7 89.2 79.9 76.3 77.8 81.2 82.5 85.5 89.2 97.2 96.8 93.8 99.0 96.0 93.4 94.0 61.8 66.6 64.1 63.5 67.6 75.7 80.8 73.0 76.2 79.3 82.3 82.1 84.2 87.9 81.1 84.0 86.5 88.0 89.7 88.1 88.7 65.8 69.9 74.2 80.4 88.4 88.2 88.1 82.5 88.2 92.0 94.3 96.2 93.4 93.6 76.4 77.3 78.6 81.2 86.3 86.5 87.9 66.8 69.8 74.2 76.3 78.3 79.9 84.9 96.2 90.9 91.8 93.7 95.9 93.6 91.1 64.2 66.3 70.2 77.7 84.1 90.4 92.2 59.7 61.9 67.1 71.3 74.7 79.0 84.7 67.8 69.4 73.5 76.9 81.6 82.2 84.6 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 92.8 97.2 100.0 100.6 97.6 93.9 93.2 92.9 93.4 93.9 99.6 100.0 97.2 94.5 95.2 95.8 96.2 99.2 95.0 96.5 100.0 104.1 104.9 100.1 95.8 93.8 96.2 85.9 95.0 100.0 103.8 108.2 120.4 126.5 116.1 107.1 94.3 95.6 100.0 100.9 102.0 102.1 101.8 100.3 99.1 93.0 98.1 100.0 102.3 97.9 96.4 97.6 94.6 94.7 93.6 96.3 100.0 100.1 93.0 93.8 92.7 95.9 94.0 96.8 99.3 100.0 102.2 96.8 94.1 95.3 91.2 89.4 90.3 93.3 100.0 105.3 103.6 105.9 107.5 103.9 100.4 91.3 98.4 100.0 104.4 102.1 103.2 109.6 111.1 109.8 92.1 95.5 100.0 102.3 96.0 94.0 94.6 92.2 92.5 95.6 100.0 100.0 100.9 102.9 107.1 111.4 116.9 121.4 92.3 100.4 100.0 91.8 87.0 86.8 90.4 88.5 89.0 91.6 98.2 100.0 100.3 99.7 102.5 104.8 107.1 112.1 NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Korea, Taiwan, Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) 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: - 26 Table 10. (Indexes: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 1992=100) United Year States Kingdom* Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Former W.Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden* United 1950 NA 22.4 NA NA NA NA 9.6 18.4 9.5 14.7 12.7 7.8 10.7 10.0 1955 NA 28.7 12.7 NA NA NA 12.0 25.6 9.4 15.1 14.5 10.2 15.5 13.2 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 NA NA NA NA NA NA 31.8 29.7 27.1 26.9 26.8 27.1 10.9 11.2 12.1 12.5 12.4 13.4 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 19.4 20.3 20.7 22.0 23.5 24.8 13.5 14.3 14.9 15.7 15.6 16.5 21.1 21.9 22.7 23.5 23.7 24.0 10.4 11.6 12.3 12.6 12.6 13.0 16.0 16.4 17.4 20.1 21.1 20.3 16.0 18.0 18.7 19.8 20.9 22.0 11.3 11.9 13.0 13.2 13.3 13.9 16.8 17.6 18.2 18.9 19.1 19.6 15.6 16.7 17.1 17.0 16.9 18.0 1966 1967 1968 1969 NA NA NA NA 28.6 29.8 30.0 30.8 13.5 13.3 13.9 14.5 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 25.6 26.5 25.9 25.9 17.9 18.5 17.4 18.8 23.4 23.7 24.2 23.1 13.6 13.5 13.4 13.9 19.9 20.9 20.7 21.8 23.0 23.8 23.5 24.3 14.6 15.7 16.4 16.5 20.5 21.0 20.9 21.0 18.9 18.3 15.9 16.9 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 59.2 63.5 68.8 34.7 35.9 37.5 38.0 44.3 50.8 55.9 54.5 53.7 56.8 15.3 17.3 20.8 26.1 30.9 34.5 35.0 41.1 54.2 50.9 22.8 21.6 21.2 24.8 29.8 29.2 36.3 42.3 50.3 61.2 14.0 14.7 14.9 18.1 27.5 27.9 28.9 30.1 31.1 36.3 27.0 29.9 35.0 42.4 49.5 60.9 60.9 67.6 77.8 84.2 20.3 22.1 24.1 30.7 35.6 40.9 41.8 45.7 54.1 60.3 23.0 24.4 28.2 34.3 36.8 48.7 47.2 49.2 58.0 66.4 17.1 19.3 21.9 28.0 31.5 35.1 34.4 39.6 47.6 53.6 24.9 28.7 31.4 34.2 37.6 48.9 41.9 45.8 51.4 58.1 25.7 28.8 33.3 41.3 47.6 58.7 56.5 61.3 70.7 78.0 17.8 19.9 22.3 27.2 31.7 40.7 43.6 50.4 55.5 56.2 23.0 25.1 28.7 32.7 36.2 46.8 51.3 55.5 59.5 62.8 19.2 21.3 23.8 24.8 28.0 36.1 32.6 35.3 44.6 58.2 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 77.2 80.9 86.1 84.5 84.1 85.5 88.8 85.5 85.7 89.2 65.4 69.6 77.8 78.3 71.2 68.9 70.6 75.2 83.9 91.0 51.3 54.6 48.8 51.8 51.7 49.9 74.5 84.2 92.4 86.3 61.9 63.5 62.4 62.5 64.7 58.4 56.4 64.3 80.9 94.0 42.0 47.6 47.9 45.9 48.4 50.0 54.7 65.0 74.0 83.8 88.3 70.6 57.2 51.0 46.8 46.9 63.4 77.2 77.0 72.3 58.9 50.4 46.7 43.4 40.8 42.3 60.0 77.9 79.0 72.6 76.7 67.0 61.5 57.3 53.5 54.2 72.1 84.7 82.9 77.7 59.6 49.9 49.3 46.7 42.4 41.7 58.5 74.9 76.9 73.0 63.3 56.2 54.7 54.2 49.0 47.9 63.0 74.4 75.6 76.2 82.3 66.9 65.3 59.3 49.8 48.7 67.3 83.2 83.2 75.5 63.9 61.3 58.2 54.7 50.5 50.8 65.3 77.5 86.1 82.9 69.6 64.6 53.6 45.3 43.6 45.4 58.3 68.5 75.0 76.4 77.8 74.8 67.4 58.2 52.5 54.0 63.9 75.7 82.9 78.5 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 92.8 97.2 100.0 100.6 97.6 93.9 93.2 92.9 93.4 97.2 105.0 100.0 91.1 83.6 83.8 84.9 83.9 80.8 83.1 90.9 100.0 118.8 130.1 135.1 111.7 98.3 93.1 94.9 101.1 100.0 101.1 105.2 122.3 123.3 95.8 60.0 88.2 89.9 100.0 96.1 97.0 96.9 93.3 87.7 74.3 89.5 92.3 100.0 95.1 94.2 105.2 101.4 84.9 83.8 91.3 90.8 100.0 93.2 88.3 101.1 96.5 87.6 84.7 94.1 93.1 100.0 95.5 92.4 99.9 98.6 82.6 80.2 87.3 87.8 100.0 99.4 99.8 115.5 111.6 93.5 89.1 93.8 97.6 100.0 81.8 78.1 78.0 87.5 80.3 77.9 88.9 89.8 100.0 96.8 92.8 103.0 98.6 83.0 82.0 95.0 95.7 100.0 88.3 90.7 105.0 107.1 102.5 99.9 90.8 96.6 100.0 68.6 65.7 70.8 78.5 67.5 65.2 92.5 98.2 100.0 85.3 86.5 91.6 92.6 99.3 105.2 NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Korea, Taiwan, Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) 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, April 2000. - 27 Table 11. (Indexes: Exchange rates, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Value of foreign currency relative to U.S. dollar) 1992=100) United States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 1950 100.0 110.5 35.2 NA NA NA 87.5 151.3 37.2 1955 100.0 122.5 35.2 NA NA NA 87.4 151.2 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 124.6 119.4 113.1 112.0 112.0 112.1 112.2 112.0 112.2 112.2 35.2 35.1 35.1 35.1 35.0 35.1 35.0 35.0 35.2 35.4 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 64.5 64.5 64.6 64.5 64.6 64.8 64.5 64.7 64.4 64.1 87.6 87.4 87.5 87.4 87.3 87.3 87.4 86.5 80.7 80.3 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 115.8 119.7 122.0 120.8 123.6 118.8 122.6 113.7 106.0 103.2 35.4 36.5 41.8 46.8 43.5 42.7 42.8 47.3 60.8 58.1 252.7 226.0 199.7 197.0 194.0 162.1 162.1 162.1 162.1 162.1 62.9 62.9 62.9 65.8 66.2 66.2 66.2 66.2 67.9 69.8 64.7 66.2 73.0 82.8 82.7 87.6 83.3 89.7 102.3 109.6 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 103.4 100.8 97.9 98.1 93.3 88.5 87.0 91.1 98.2 102.1 55.9 57.5 50.9 53.4 53.4 53.2 75.3 87.7 98.9 91.8 129.2 115.2 107.2 101.1 97.1 91.0 88.7 95.0 106.8 116.4 69.8 68.3 64.3 62.8 63.5 63.1 66.5 79.2 87.9 95.3 110.0 86.4 70.2 62.9 55.7 54.2 72.0 86.1 87.4 81.6 Year Kingdom Former W.Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United 197.3 46.2 87.1 112.6 158.6 37.1 197.1 46.1 87.0 112.6 158.0 107.9 107.9 108.0 108.0 108.0 108.0 107.7 107.6 106.9 102.2 37.4 38.9 39.1 39.2 39.3 39.1 39.1 39.2 39.1 39.8 198.4 198.4 198.5 198.2 197.3 197.2 197.3 197.4 197.7 196.4 46.6 48.5 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.6 48.8 48.6 48.5 87.1 87.0 87.1 86.9 86.8 86.9 86.9 86.9 87.0 87.0 112.7 112.7 113.0 112.3 113.1 112.9 112.8 112.9 112.7 112.7 159.0 158.6 159.0 158.5 158.1 158.3 158.1 155.7 135.5 135.3 80.5 81.6 86.8 100.2 99.3 105.3 99.9 100.6 109.6 114.8 95.7 96.1 104.9 119.3 110.1 123.6 110.9 107.7 117.6 124.4 42.8 44.9 49.0 59.0 60.5 63.6 62.1 67.3 77.9 85.2 196.5 199.3 211.1 211.8 189.4 188.9 148.4 139.6 145.2 148.3 48.6 50.4 54.8 63.3 65.5 69.7 66.6 71.7 81.4 87.7 86.9 88.3 94.3 108.2 112.6 119.2 113.9 116.8 118.6 122.7 112.3 114.1 122.5 133.8 131.4 140.6 133.7 130.4 129.0 135.9 135.6 138.4 141.6 138.8 132.5 125.8 102.2 98.8 108.6 120.2 107.1 84.6 72.4 66.0 58.3 57.0 74.6 88.2 89.6 82.5 125.3 97.3 80.5 69.5 60.6 58.9 76.4 88.0 88.8 83.0 85.9 69.0 64.3 61.2 54.9 53.1 72.0 86.9 88.9 83.0 143.9 108.2 91.0 81.1 70.2 64.5 82.6 95.0 94.6 89.8 88.5 70.4 65.8 61.6 54.8 53.0 71.8 86.8 88.9 82.9 125.8 108.2 96.2 85.1 76.2 72.3 84.0 92.2 95.2 89.9 137.7 115.0 92.7 75.9 70.4 67.7 81.7 91.8 94.9 90.2 131.7 114.6 99.0 85.8 75.7 73.5 83.1 92.8 100.8 92.7 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 NA: 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 103.6 105.5 100.0 93.7 88.4 88.1 88.6 87.3 81.5 87.4 94.2 100.0 114.1 124.1 134.9 116.5 104.7 96.8 110.4 106.5 100.0 97.4 97.2 101.5 97.5 82.5 56.0 93.5 94.0 100.0 95.2 95.1 95.0 91.6 87.4 75.0 96.2 94.0 100.0 93.0 96.2 109.1 103.8 89.8 88.5 97.5 94.3 100.0 93.1 95.0 107.8 104.1 91.3 90.1 97.2 93.7 100.0 93.4 95.4 106.2 103.5 90.7 89.7 96.6 94.0 100.0 94.4 96.3 109.1 103.8 90.0 88.8 102.8 99.3 100.0 78.3 76.5 75.6 79.9 72.3 70.9 96.6 93.9 100.0 94.6 96.7 109.6 104.3 90.1 88.7 99.4 95.7 100.0 87.5 88.1 98.1 96.2 87.7 82.3 98.4 96.3 100.0 74.7 75.5 81.6 86.8 76.2 73.3 101.0 100.1 100.0 85.0 86.7 89.4 88.4 92.7 93.8 Not Available Source: - 28 Table 12. (Indexes: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Average annual compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 1992=100) United Year States Kingdom* Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Former W.Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden* United 1950 8.8 6.1 NA NA NA NA 3.5 2.0 4.9 0.9 4.0 2.9 2.4 1.9 1955 11.8 8.3 3.7 NA NA NA 4.7 3.4 7.3 1.4 5.9 4.4 3.8 2.7 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 14.8 15.2 16.0 16.5 17.3 17.9 18.8 19.4 20.9 22.2 10.7 10.9 11.4 11.9 12.5 13.3 14.1 14.9 15.8 17.0 5.3 6.1 6.8 7.6 8.5 9.4 10.4 11.7 13.5 15.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 6.8 7.2 7.8 8.6 9.6 10.5 11.5 12.4 13.3 14.4 6.0 6.6 7.2 7.8 8.5 9.4 10.4 11.6 12.5 13.8 5.2 5.7 6.3 6.9 7.5 8.0 8.5 9.1 10.0 10.9 10.7 11.8 13.0 13.7 14.8 16.2 17.4 17.8 19.4 21.3 1.8 2.0 2.3 2.7 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.6 3.8 4.2 8.4 9.2 9.8 10.7 12.3 13.8 15.3 16.9 18.5 20.7 6.0 6.4 7.0 7.5 8.0 8.7 9.5 10.5 11.3 12.2 5.0 5.5 6.1 6.6 7.1 7.8 8.6 9.3 9.9 10.6 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.0 4.4 4.7 5.0 5.1 5.5 6.0 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 23.3 24.8 26.5 28.5 31.0 34.3 37.6 41.0 44.3 18.1 19.1 20.5 22.1 25.4 28.8 33.0 36.6 39.5 18.6 21.2 24.3 29.4 37.0 42.1 46.7 51.6 55.2 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 16.0 18.2 21.0 24.3 29.2 33.3 39.3 42.3 45.2 15.3 17.5 19.0 21.8 26.9 31.1 34.8 38.2 41.6 12.1 13.5 14.7 16.6 19.5 23.1 26.5 29.9 33.4 24.8 27.2 29.8 33.4 37.2 40.0 44.3 47.7 50.6 5.0 5.6 6.2 7.4 9.3 11.5 14.3 16.9 19.4 23.5 26.6 30.1 35.2 40.7 45.7 50.9 55.3 59.2 13.4 15.2 16.7 18.7 21.7 25.8 29.1 32.1 34.6 11.9 13.3 14.5 15.9 18.5 22.3 25.8 27.9 30.3 6.8 7.6 8.7 10.0 11.7 15.5 18.1 20.6 23.9 1979 48.4 42.8 59.1 NA NA 48.1 46.5 37.8 54.1 23.3 62.9 35.8 32.2 28.3 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 53.5 58.8 63.3 66.9 70.2 74.1 77.4 80.0 84.0 86.7 46.8 52.4 58.5 63.2 65.5 69.4 72.2 75.5 79.5 83.4 62.9 66.8 69.9 71.9 74.8 77.6 81.1 83.3 85.6 89.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 52.7 56.1 60.0 64.2 69.3 74.1 76.2 79.2 81.9 86.4 51.6 56.1 62.0 67.2 70.8 73.0 76.3 81.5 84.4 88.2 43.5 49.8 56.7 62.3 67.7 72.9 76.1 79.4 82.7 86.9 57.9 60.9 64.1 67.2 70.3 73.1 75.6 78.8 81.7 84.6 27.4 33.1 39.0 45.6 52.3 58.3 62.2 67.0 72.0 78.7 66.7 70.2 75.3 78.9 80.7 82.9 85.7 88.1 88.6 89.0 39.1 43.6 48.1 53.0 57.9 63.1 68.9 76.3 81.7 86.0 35.4 39.3 42.4 47.3 52.3 57.2 61.5 66.4 70.6 77.9 33.0 37.8 42.0 45.2 49.2 53.7 58.3 65.3 69.9 74.5 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 90.2 94.3 100.0 104.1 108.0 109.5 111.0 115.9 121.5 89.8 94.6 100.0 101.0 102.4 105.1 105.7 109.9 113.5 95.5 98.9 100.0 102.1 104.3 107.7 110.1 112.3 111.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 91.7 97.3 100.0 103.2 107.4 109.2 112.6 115.8 116.9 92.1 95.6 100.0 103.8 106.0 109.7 111.7 116.1 117.0 91.1 95.7 100.0 102.7 105.0 107.1 109.1 111.7 113.6 89.2 94.3 100.0 102.8 108.5 113.6 117.6 120.5 122.8 85.4 93.7 100.0 105.4 108.6 113.7 120.9 126.4 125.0 91.2 95.4 100.0 103.7 108.2 110.9 113.4 115.6 117.8 90.9 96.4 100.0 101.8 105.0 108.8 112.6 117.5 124.8 87.0 94.6 100.0 100.5 106.8 114.3 122.5 127.9 131.3 82.5 91.3 100.0 104.1 107.8 109.7 110.7 114.1 120.3 NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) 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: - 29 Table 13. (Indexes: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Real hourly compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 1992=100) United States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 1950 46.9 38.7 NA NA NA NA 28.6 19.8 11.7 1955 56.7 48.7 18.2 NA NA NA 31.9 26.7 1960 65.4 57.1 23.2 NA NA 24.5 38.7 30.1 Year Kingdom Former W.Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United 18.4 17.1 26.3 25.2 26.6 15.9 21.4 21.2 29.4 30.5 29.1 23.6 24.5 26.4 36.3 35.3 34.1 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 66.6 68.5 69.6 71.6 72.0 73.2 74.9 77.3 78.7 58.1 59.6 61.2 62.7 64.8 67.1 68.2 69.8 72.1 25.6 27.4 28.4 30.8 32.2 33.8 36.4 40.2 45.3 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 25.7 27.2 29.4 31.9 34.0 36.1 38.3 39.9 42.1 41.7 42.5 43.9 45.7 47.7 50.8 53.0 54.0 58.7 32.2 34.0 35.4 37.2 39.3 40.6 42.5 46.3 47.5 25.8 28.4 29.4 31.1 33.1 34.7 36.1 38.3 41.0 26.4 29.6 32.6 32.8 33.7 35.1 37.9 40.0 42.7 29.8 31.0 33.1 36.2 39.0 41.4 44.3 47.5 50.2 38.7 40.3 42.0 42.5 45.0 47.6 50.9 54.2 58.0 37.9 40.3 43.3 45.7 48.0 49.4 52.5 56.0 58.8 35.2 35.5 36.4 37.6 39.2 40.8 41.8 42.9 44.2 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 79.7 81.0 82.5 83.6 83.6 85.8 88.0 89.8 90.8 91.1 74.6 77.0 78.6 79.3 83.0 85.9 91.1 93.6 92.2 91.9 50.0 54.4 59.7 65.4 69.5 72.5 71.4 72.8 74.5 76.4 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 46.1 51.1 57.3 63.6 69.4 74.3 78.9 79.5 81.6 83.1 62.9 68.3 71.0 78.8 82.7 90.0 92.1 91.8 91.9 93.7 51.1 54.1 56.2 60.0 62.7 68.4 71.5 74.2 76.5 78.4 46.7 49.8 52.3 55.4 58.9 61.3 63.1 66.7 69.9 72.2 49.5 54.3 57.6 61.4 67.2 72.4 77.1 76.5 78.4 82.0 55.6 59.1 62.9 69.4 75.6 78.5 80.5 82.3 85.6 88.2 58.3 62.8 65.3 68.5 73.4 78.6 83.2 85.6 87.4 87.6 61.7 64.0 67.4 69.7 74.7 83.5 88.3 86.0 88.8 89.8 47.8 49.7 53.5 55.8 57.8 62.0 61.7 60.1 64.4 67.4 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 91.8 92.2 95.5 94.2 93.7 95.5 98.1 97.5 97.9 96.8 92.1 91.3 92.5 93.1 92.5 94.0 93.7 93.2 92.6 93.4 75.4 77.0 78.6 79.2 79.8 81.4 85.0 86.9 87.8 91.1 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 86.6 87.8 84.5 86.1 88.0 88.5 89.7 91.0 91.5 94.1 92.0 90.7 89.7 89.7 89.2 90.9 89.5 94.1 93.2 94.1 79.5 81.2 86.2 86.9 87.7 89.6 90.9 91.5 92.6 94.1 74.6 74.6 75.0 76.0 77.7 80.7 84.1 87.7 90.3 92.3 79.4 80.9 82.0 83.4 86.6 89.6 87.9 88.8 87.9 90.3 87.4 85.7 85.8 87.4 87.8 90.4 93.9 97.4 96.6 96.3 86.0 84.1 84.1 85.1 87.7 90.8 92.4 96.4 96.0 96.1 87.5 86.2 85.0 84.3 85.0 87.2 90.3 92.3 94.0 98.1 69.0 72.0 72.4 74.4 76.3 77.8 81.5 88.1 87.7 87.7 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 96.6 98.0 100.0 100.2 100.8 100.2 98.9 100.4 104.3 95.9 96.1 100.0 97.9 98.4 99.4 97.1 99.2 102.2 95.3 97.6 100.0 103.2 104.7 107.4 108.8 109.7 110.9 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 95.4 99.7 100.0 102.0 100.9 102.3 102.8 104.1 103.8 96.9 98.0 100.0 103.3 NA NA NA NA NA 96.0 98.8 100.0 100.7 101.2 102.0 101.7 103.1 103.8 96.6 99.1 100.0 102.1 104.8 108.7 112.8 113.3 113.3 94.6 98.7 100.0 103.2 99.6 98.9 102.0 104.4 101.6 96.5 98.1 100.0 101.1 102.7 103.1 103.6 103.7 104.0 97.7 99.8 100.0 99.2 100.7 102.7 105.6 107.9 112.0 97.4 97.2 100.0 95.3 96.2 96.8 102.7 105.8 107.5 88.9 93.9 100.0 102.7 102.3 99.7 98.1 98.0 100.2 NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries. Source: - 30 Table 14. (Indexes: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Real average annual compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 1992=100) United States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France 1950 47.5 41.6 NA NA NA NA 40.2 24.3 17.2 1955 57.6 50.3 21.6 NA NA NA 44.0 32.5 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 65.1 66.4 68.9 70.3 72.8 73.9 75.4 75.7 78.1 78.9 58.7 59.4 61.4 63.2 65.0 67.3 69.1 70.3 71.8 73.9 28.6 31.1 32.6 33.6 36.2 37.2 39.2 42.3 46.6 51.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 30.8 32.2 34.2 37.0 40.0 41.9 44.1 46.2 48.2 50.3 50.7 53.1 54.5 55.4 58.3 60.6 63.4 65.4 65.1 69.9 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 78.2 79.7 82.5 83.5 81.9 82.9 86.0 88.1 89.0 88.8 75.9 78.1 79.8 79.9 83.1 84.9 90.2 92.6 91.8 91.2 56.6 60.6 66.1 71.9 73.2 74.7 75.7 77.3 79.4 82.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 53.6 58.5 64.2 69.5 73.9 74.9 80.9 81.2 83.2 84.7 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 88.5 88.9 90.3 91.5 92.4 94.3 96.7 96.7 97.9 90.5 89.7 90.3 92.2 91.7 93.4 93.3 93.4 94.6 80.9 82.0 83.5 84.3 85.7 87.2 90.5 92.8 94.8 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 87.0 86.1 84.7 84.1 85.4 87.1 88.4 90.5 92.5 Year Kingdom Former W.Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United 20.2 22.3 34.4 32.8 30.9 23.3 24.1 27.7 38.6 39.3 34.2 36.6 39.4 41.5 43.1 45.0 47.2 48.9 50.7 53.7 56.4 31.0 33.4 35.8 36.5 38.7 41.0 42.4 42.9 46.1 49.5 28.0 29.8 32.4 35.9 36.1 35.8 37.8 41.4 43.6 46.3 34.8 37.6 39.0 41.4 44.9 48.2 50.8 54.2 57.1 59.5 45.8 48.0 49.9 51.7 52.6 54.5 57.8 61.2 63.6 66.5 43.1 45.8 48.4 51.5 53.7 56.0 57.5 60.2 62.8 64.8 39.3 40.1 39.9 40.9 42.6 43.9 44.9 45.6 47.2 48.6 72.5 78.5 79.8 83.9 89.8 94.6 97.3 96.0 95.0 96.8 59.9 63.0 64.7 68.0 70.1 74.2 77.8 80.0 81.9 83.6 56.0 58.4 60.7 63.8 66.5 67.4 71.5 74.3 76.9 79.2 52.6 56.2 59.2 63.8 67.4 71.3 76.0 75.0 76.6 79.6 64.7 68.1 71.5 77.3 81.7 83.2 85.2 86.7 89.2 90.9 66.3 70.8 72.5 75.6 80.0 85.3 87.9 89.0 88.8 87.5 67.9 70.2 72.0 73.1 77.5 85.0 88.8 85.9 86.3 86.0 51.7 52.5 56.0 59.1 59.3 63.4 63.7 62.4 66.6 69.4 95.7 93.2 93.5 94.7 93.9 92.5 93.3 95.8 94.9 84.9 85.6 87.2 87.4 88.5 89.8 91.3 92.3 93.7 80.7 79.7 79.7 80.9 82.7 84.3 87.3 90.9 93.2 77.3 78.7 79.6 81.0 84.0 86.2 86.7 89.2 91.3 90.6 89.3 90.4 92.2 91.3 91.6 94.6 97.7 97.6 86.3 84.6 83.8 85.3 87.7 90.4 92.1 93.7 94.1 83.0 82.1 81.3 81.7 83.9 85.3 88.0 91.0 92.6 68.7 70.6 71.8 73.9 76.4 78.7 82.6 88.8 90.6 1989 96.8 94.5 97.4 NA NA 94.7 94.6 95.1 93.9 93.7 96.8 94.7 96.3 89.6 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 96.0 96.8 100.0 101.5 103.0 101.8 100.4 102.6 106.1 96.3 95.9 100.0 99.2 100.3 100.9 99.8 102.2 104.6 100.3 100.6 100.0 100.8 102.3 105.7 107.9 108.2 107.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 97.0 99.7 100.0 100.5 102.1 102.3 103.3 104.6 104.6 96.3 97.6 100.0 102.5 102.6 104.0 103.7 105.5 104.4 96.5 98.2 100.0 100.6 101.2 101.5 101.3 102.5 103.5 96.4 98.2 100.0 99.1 101.7 104.9 107.2 107.9 109.0 95.8 98.8 100.0 101.1 100.3 99.7 102.0 104.8 101.9 96.9 98.3 100.0 101.1 102.7 103.5 103.8 103.5 103.6 96.2 98.7 100.0 99.5 101.2 102.4 104.6 106.5 110.5 96.7 96.4 100.0 97.8 101.7 104.1 111.0 114.4 116.2 90.6 94.7 100.0 102.5 103.6 101.9 100.4 100.3 102.2 Netherlands Norway Sweden* NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries. Source: - 31 Table 15. (Indexes: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. Labor compensation in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 1992=100) United Year States Kingdom* Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Former W.Germany Italy United 1950 7.4 4.6 NA NA NA NA 2.9 2.2 3.7 .7 4.6 3.4 3.0 3.1 1955 11.0 6.9 1.8 NA NA NA 4.1 3.9 7.0 1.1 7.2 5.5 5.0 4.9 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 13.7 13.7 14.8 15.4 16.4 17.8 19.8 20.7 22.6 24.6 8.7 8.9 9.5 10.2 11.1 12.3 13.9 14.8 15.8 17.3 3.3 4.1 4.8 5.5 6.4 7.1 8.1 9.7 11.6 14.0 NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 9.2 10.1 11.1 12.4 14.3 15.6 17.1 17.9 18.8 21.1 6.3 7.0 7.9 8.5 9.5 10.7 11.8 12.5 13.5 15.4 6.0 6.7 7.5 8.4 9.2 9.8 10.5 11.1 12.0 13.5 11.6 13.1 14.5 15.2 16.4 18.3 19.4 18.9 20.7 23.6 1.7 1.9 2.3 2.8 3.0 3.0 3.3 3.8 4.1 4.6 10.9 12.2 13.2 14.5 16.9 19.0 21.0 22.5 24.4 27.7 7.3 8.0 8.9 9.5 10.3 11.4 12.6 14.0 14.9 16.2 6.9 7.7 8.6 9.4 10.3 11.3 12.2 12.9 13.5 14.7 6.7 7.1 7.3 7.5 8.2 9.0 9.6 9.5 10.2 11.3 1970 1971 1972 1973 24.8 25.3 27.8 31.5 18.1 19.3 21.4 24.1 16.8 19.2 22.0 27.8 .6 .7 .9 1.4 3.0 3.8 4.6 6.3 24.0 27.2 31.0 36.1 17.1 18.8 20.9 24.3 15.4 17.3 19.1 22.0 28.2 30.7 33.0 37.3 5.7 6.5 7.1 8.7 31.5 35.2 38.4 44.2 18.2 20.8 22.9 25.7 16.7 18.1 19.4 21.6 12.8 13.7 15.3 17.8 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 34.2 34.5 39.2 44.4 50.0 55.9 28.2 31.2 36.0 39.1 43.6 49.3 34.6 37.2 41.1 44.9 47.4 50.7 2.0 2.6 4.1 5.5 7.9 10.6 9.0 9.5 12.1 14.2 17.3 21.2 43.9 47.2 53.4 55.2 56.5 58.6 28.9 30.6 34.5 37.7 40.8 45.9 26.1 30.2 34.5 38.7 42.8 47.6 40.5 40.9 44.2 47.8 50.6 54.8 11.4 14.0 17.6 21.1 23.9 29.2 51.0 55.3 59.1 62.5 65.5 68.8 30.3 35.9 40.2 44.5 47.1 48.0 25.7 31.1 35.9 37.6 39.6 42.2 20.8 26.3 29.7 34.0 39.3 46.2 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 59.7 65.3 65.6 68.1 75.0 78.5 80.8 83.8 89.5 92.8 54.1 60.4 61.8 65.3 70.7 75.9 80.0 85.1 93.4 98.9 54.9 59.0 61.4 64.2 68.2 71.3 74.1 75.3 79.1 84.8 13.3 16.8 19.0 23.2 28.2 29.9 35.4 45.1 57.4 63.9 26.9 33.6 36.6 40.0 47.8 51.4 61.4 69.2 74.0 80.2 62.8 63.1 65.5 68.6 73.2 77.1 78.5 79.7 82.3 87.9 50.2 52.6 58.0 63.1 70.2 76.8 83.2 87.7 88.9 91.8 54.3 60.1 67.4 72.7 76.7 80.4 82.4 83.9 86.1 91.0 59.2 61.0 62.5 63.2 65.9 69.4 72.9 76.0 78.6 82.6 34.5 39.9 45.5 51.0 55.7 61.1 64.5 69.1 75.4 83.3 72.0 73.8 76.1 76.1 76.1 79.0 82.7 85.8 86.8 88.3 52.6 57.6 61.3 64.1 69.4 76.2 84.0 93.0 95.2 93.4 46.4 49.9 51.9 56.7 63.0 69.7 75.0 80.4 87.1 94.5 51.5 53.4 55.7 56.5 60.1 65.4 69.3 77.0 83.4 89.2 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 95.1 96.0 100.0 104.2 109.4 112.2 113.4 119.6 126.1 100.1 98.4 100.0 102.2 107.0 113.1 115.2 123.1 131.9 91.5 97.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.7 102.3 104.2 99.7 74.5 90.2 100.0 109.4 126.4 156.5 175.5 171.6 146.9 85.6 92.6 100.0 103.4 110.6 117.2 122.2 128.3 131.8 94.0 98.8 100.0 99.2 99.3 100.4 101.7 103.0 105.8 96.1 98.0 100.0 99.1 101.6 107.6 109.2 115.3 118.9 96.0 99.1 100.0 97.8 97.1 98.6 99.6 100.5 102.4 89.5 96.0 100.0 96.6 96.8 99.2 99.4 99.5 101.2 90.9 97.5 100.0 100.6 104.3 110.6 116.9 122.6 123.6 92.2 96.1 100.0 100.5 100.0 101.3 102.5 105.1 107.9 95.7 98.3 100.0 103.6 109.9 116.6 122.6 132.4 141.4 102.0 104.0 100.0 93.1 100.7 112.9 120.2 124.2 130.3 96.5 98.2 100.0 101.7 105.9 110.4 113.4 117.4 123.3 NA: Not Available Note: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Korea, Taiwan, Belgium, Denmark, and Italy, and to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) 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: - 14 - U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000. TECHNICAL NOTES 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 aggregate measures - output, total labor hours, and total compensation. The hours and compensation measures refer to employees (wage and salary earners) in Korea, Taiwan, Belgium, Denmark, and Italy. For all other countries, the measures refer to all employed persons, including employees, self-employed persons, and unpaid family workers. For all of the countries, the term "hours" refers to hours worked. In general, the measures relate to total manufacturing as defined by the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). However, the measures for France refer to mining and manufacturing less energy-related products, and the measures for Denmark include mining and exclude manufacturing handicrafts from 1960 to 1966. The comparisons in this news release make use of data made available to BLS as of December 1999 by the statistical agencies of the individual countries. For some countries, for the most recent years, these data are based on the European System of Integrated National Accounts (ESA 95) or on the United Nations revised System of National Accounts (SNA 93). For other countries, data were compiled according to previously used systems. To obtain historical time series, BLS may link together data series compiled according to different accounting systems. Output. For most countries, the output measures are value added in manufacturing from the national accounts. However, output for Japan prior to 1970 and for the Netherlands prior to 1960 are indexes of industrial production. The national accounts measures for the United Kingdom are essentially identical to their indexes of industrial production. In this release, manufacturing output data for the United States from 1977 forward are the gross product originating (value added) measures prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. U. S. gross product originating is a chain-type annual-weighted series. 1/ Comparable manufacturing output data are not available prior to 1977. The gross product originating series differs from the manufacturing output series that BLS publishes in its news releases on quarterly measures of U.S. productivity and costs. The quarterly measures are on a sectoral output basis rather than a value added basis. Sectoral output is gross output less intrasector sales and transfers. 2/ A value added concept has been used for the international comparisons series because the data are more readily available in the countries' national accounts, whereas sectoral output would require a complex estimation procedure. Also, although BLS has determined that sectoral output is the correct concept for U.S. measures of single factor productivity (output per hour), there are other considerations that may make value added a better concept for international comparisons, such as differences among countries in the extent of vertical integration. The historical real output series for many of the other countries are estimated using fixed price weights, with the weights updated periodically (for example, every 5 or 10 years). The Japanese value added series is based upon one set of fixed price weights since 1970. Measures of real output also may differ among countries because of different approaches to estimating the prices of high-technology products like computers and, in general, of products that undergo rapid quality change. 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, - 15 Sweden, and Canada 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 average annual hours worked. For W. Germany after 1959, BLS uses aggregate hours worked, which are developed by a research institute of the Ministry of Labor for use with the national accounts employment figures; earlier figures are BLS estimates. For the other countries, and W. Germany before 1959, BLS constructs its own estimates of average hours. Denmark has not published estimates of average hours for 1994-1998, and, therefore, the BLS measure of labor input for Denmark ends in 1993. BLS is in the process of assessing the comparability of the employment and hours time series data available from Korean and Taiwanese statistical sources. Compensation (labor cost). The compensation measures are from the national accounts. Compensation includes employer expenditures for legally required insurance programs and contractual and private benefit plans, in addition to all payments made in cash or in-kind directly to employees. For Canada, France, and Sweden, compensation is increased to account for other important taxes on payroll or employment. For the United Kingdom, compensation is reduced between 1967 and 1991 to account for subsidies. When data for the self-employed are not available, total compensation is estimated by assuming the same hourly compensation for self-employed and employees. Real compensation for the U.S. is derived with the Consumer Price Index research series (CPI-U-RS). Current Indicators. The measures for recent years may be based on current indicators of output (such as industrial production indexes), employment, average hours, and hourly compensation until national accounts and other statistics, normally used for the long-term measures, become available. Trade-Weighted Measures. The trade weights for Canada, Japan, and the European countries were obtained by re-scaling a series of weights, developed by the International Monetary Fund, based on average trade flows over the 1989-91 period. These weights are based on aggregate trade data for total manufacturing and take account of both bilateral trade and the relative importance of "third country" markets. The 1989-91 weights do not include Korea and Taiwan. BLS developed weights for Korea and Taiwan by using data from an earlier study from the International Monetary Fund and other sources. The following weights were used for the entire period for which tradeweighted unit labor cost measures are produced: Country Canada Japan Belgium Denmark France W. Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom Korea Taiwan Weight 23.94 28.91 2.02 0.45 5.58 10.98 4.35 2.13 0.45 1.79 8.50 5.43 5.48 - 16 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 is needed. Market exchange rates are not suitable as a basis for comparing output levels. What is needed are purchasing power parities, which are 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. Purchasing power parities are available for total gross domestic product (GDP) from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). However, these parities are derived for expenditures made by consumers, business, and government for goods and services - not for value added by industry. Therefore, they do not provide purchasing power parities by industry. The parities for total GDP are not suitable for each component industry, such as manufacturing. Some analysts have constructed "proxy purchasing power parities" for manufacturing, using selected expenditure items from the GDP purchasing power parities. However, the prices used in this method have a number of shortcomings because they are based on consumer, business, and government final expenditures. The data reflect sales to final users, rather than the output of specific industries, and thus prices include indirect taxes, distribution margins, and transportation costs. Further, the purchasing power parities exclude items that, although they are outputs of the manufacturing sector (e.g., steel, paper, cement, etc.), are only intermediate inputs with respect to final sales. They also do not reflect an industry's output because they include imports and exclude exports. A different approach has been used by researchers at the International Comparisons of Output and Productivity project based at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. They develop unit value ratios for matched products, based on censuses of manufactures data in the various countries. Unit values are obtained by dividing producers' sales values by quantities shipped. This procedure also has shortcomings, primarily because only a limited portion of manufactured products can be matched and the matched products may not be adequately representative of total manufacturing. For many products, values are reported but not quantities; for some products, there is no counterpart in the other country; and other products cannot be matched because they represent a different mix of product varieties or because of large differences in qualities. 3/ 1/ For more information on the U. S. measure, see Robert E. Yuskavage, "Improved Estimates of Gross Product by Industry, 1959-94," Survey of Current Business, August 1996, pp. 133-55. 2/ For information on sectoral output, see William Gullickson, "Measurement of productivity growth in U.S. manufacturing," Monthly Labor Review, July 1995, pp. 13-28. 3/ For an article based on this approach, see Bart van Ark, "Manufacturing prices, productivity, and labor costs in five economies," Monthly Labor Review, July 1995, pp. 56-72.