Full text of Revised Data for 1998 : Text File, USDL: 00-121
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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov USDL: 00-121
Technical information: (202) 691-5654 For Release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 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
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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
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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
Output Total Hourly Unit labor costs
Country per Employ- Average compen- compen- National U.S. Exchange
or area hour Output Hours ment hours sation sation currency dollars rate (1)
United States 4.7 4.8 0.1 0.5 - 0.4 5.4 5.3 0.5 0.5 ---
Canada 0.7 3.9 3.2 3.7 - 0.6 7.2 3.9 3.2 - 3.7 - 6.7
Japan - 0.8 - 6.7 - 5.9 - 3.9 - 2.1 - 4.4 1.7 2.5 - 5.3 - 7.6
Korea (2) NA - 7.2 NA NA NA -14.4 NA - 7.7 -37.4 -32.1
Taiwan (2) NA 3.9 NA NA NA 2.7 NA - 1.1 -15.2 -14.2
Belgium 0.6 2.6 1.9 1.7 0.2 2.7 0.8 0.1 - 1.3 - 1.4
Denmark (3) NA 5.1 NA 2.3 NA 3.1 NA - 2.0 - 3.3 - 1.4
France 3.4 3.9 0.5 0.2 0.2 1.9 1.4 - 1.9 - 2.9 - 1.0
Germany (4) 4.3 5.2 0.8 - 0.2 1.1 1.7 0.8 - 3.3 - 4.7 - 1.4
Italy 0.2 1.9 1.7 1.9 - 0.2 0.8 - 0.9 - 1.1 - 3.0 - 1.9
Netherlands 1.7 2.2 0.4 0.6 - 0.2 2.6 2.2 0.4 - 1.2 - 1.6
Norway 2.1 2.8 0.7 0.6 0.0 6.8 6.1 3.9 - 2.5 - 6.2
Sweden 2.2 4.4 2.2 2.3 - 0.1 5.0 2.7 0.6 - 3.3 - 3.9
United Kingdom 1.1 0.4 - 0.7 - 0.4 - 0.3 5.0 5.7 4.6 5.9 1.2
(1) Value of foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar.
(2) Productivity not available because suitable labor input measures have not been developed by BLS.
(3) Labor input data have not been produced for 1994-1998 by the Danish national statistical agency.
(4) 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
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.
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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
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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.
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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.)
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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 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998
or area
Output per hour
United States 3.1 3.3 2.2 3.4 6.1 2.1 4.1 4.7
Canada 1.9 2.3 1.2 2.0 2.5 -1.4 3.4 0.7
Japan 3.5 3.5 4.3 2.9 7.4 5.9 4.9 -0.8
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium 3.7 6.0 2.2 3.0 4.5 1.3 6.1 0.6
Denmark NA 2.1 0.5 NA NA NA NA NA
France 3.5 3.0 3.4 3.9 5.4 0.5 7.2 3.4
Germany 2/ 2.6 2.1 2.1 3.2 3.0 3.5 5.9 4.3
Italy 3.3 4.9 2.5 2.6 3.5 0.9 2.8 0.2
Netherlands 3.3 4.4 2.1 3.3 4.4 1.7 5.0 1.7
Norway 1.5 2.4 1.4 0.9 0.5 0.1 -0.1 2.1
Sweden 3.4 3.0 1.8 4.6 5.4 2.5 6.5 2.2
United Kingdom 3.3 4.1 4.1 2.2 -1.9 -1.5 0.8 1.1
Output
United States 2.7 2.0 2.2 3.5 6.6 1.7 5.9 4.8
Canada 2.1 1.4 1.8 2.8 5.0 1.2 6.5 3.9
Japan 3.1 4.7 4.8 0.9 5.5 6.1 4.1 -6.7
Korea 8.7 8.8 13.2 5.9 11.3 6.8 6.6 -7.2
Taiwan 6.4 8.1 7.0 4.9 6.0 4.5 6.6 3.9
Belgium 2.0 2.6 2.5 1.3 2.7 0.0 4.6 2.6
Denmark 2.0 2.9 -0.2 2.6 5.0 2.7 2.1 5.1
France 1.3 -0.4 2.6 1.8 4.5 -0.3 5.5 3.9
Germany 2/ 0.8 0.2 2.3 0.2 0.2 -1.3 3.6 5.2
Italy 2.2 1.7 3.9 1.5 4.9 -0.5 3.5 1.9
Netherlands 2.2 1.8 3.1 1.9 3.5 0.5 5.3 2.2
Norway 0.6 0.6 -1.6 1.9 2.1 1.1 2.8 2.8
Sweden 2.5 2.2 1.2 3.6 12.5 2.2 5.5 4.4
United Kingdom 0.8 -1.2 3.4 0.6 1.5 0.4 1.3 0.4
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, 1979-98
Average annual rates of change 1/
Country 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998
or area
Total hours
United States -0.3 -1.2 0.0 0.1 0.4 -0.4 1.8 0.1
Canada 0.2 -0.8 0.6 0.8 2.4 2.7 3.0 3.2
Japan -0.4 1.1 0.5 -2.0 -1.8 0.2 -0.8 -5.9
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium -1.6 -3.2 0.4 -1.7 -1.7 -1.3 -1.4 1.9
Denmark NA 0.8 -0.6 NA NA NA NA NA
France -2.1 -3.2 -0.8 -2.0 -0.9 -0.7 -1.6 0.5
Germany 2/ -1.8 -1.9 0.2 -2.9 -2.7 -4.7 -2.2 0.8
Italy -1.1 -3.1 1.3 -1.0 1.3 -1.4 0.7 1.7
Netherlands -1.1 -2.5 1.0 -1.3 -0.9 -1.2 0.3 0.4
Norway -0.9 -1.8 -2.9 1.0 1.5 1.0 3.0 0.7
Sweden -0.8 -0.8 -0.5 -1.0 6.7 -0.3 -1.0 2.2
United Kingdom -2.5 -5.1 -0.6 -1.6 3.4 1.9 0.5 -0.7
Employment
United States -0.6 -1.4 -0.1 -0.2 1.1 -0.3 1.0 0.5
Canada 0.1 -0.8 0.4 0.5 2.9 1.4 2.8 3.7
Japan 0.2 1.2 0.8 -0.9 -2.5 -0.6 -0.1 -3.9
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium -1.5 -2.6 -0.3 -1.5 -0.6 -1.7 -1.5 1.7
Denmark 0.1 1.0 -0.2 -0.3 2.4 -0.3 1.6 2.3
France -1.7 -2.2 -0.9 -1.9 -0.3 -0.9 -1.4 0.2
Germany 2/ -1.1 -1.1 1.1 -2.4 -2.2 -3.1 -2.3 -0.2
Italy -1.2 -2.9 0.3 -0.9 1.2 -0.6 0.3 1.9
Netherlands -0.9 -2.2 1.2 -1.2 -1.2 -1.1 0.7 0.6
Norway -0.9 -1.8 -2.7 0.9 2.4 1.6 3.4 0.6
Sweden -1.4 -1.2 -0.8 -2.1 4.8 -0.7 -1.1 2.3
United Kingdom -2.4 -4.8 -0.8 -1.6 2.5 1.8 0.5 -0.4
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, 1979-98
Average annual rates of change 1/
Country 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998
or area
Average hours
United States 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3 -0.7 -0.1 0.7 -0.4
Canada 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.3 -0.5 1.3 0.2 -0.6
Japan -0.6 0.0 -0.3 -1.1 0.7 0.8 -0.6 -2.1
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium -0.1 -0.6 0.7 -0.1 -1.1 0.4 0.1 0.2
Denmark NA -0.3 -0.5 NA NA NA NA NA
France -0.4 -1.1 0.1 -0.1 -0.6 0.1 -0.2 0.2
Germany 2/ -0.7 -0.8 -0.9 -0.5 -0.5 -1.6 0.2 1.1
Italy 0.2 -0.1 1.0 -0.1 0.1 -0.8 0.4 -0.2
Netherlands -0.2 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.3 -0.1 -0.4 -0.2
Norway -0.1 0.0 -0.2 0.0 -0.9 -0.6 -0.4 0.0
Sweden 0.6 0.4 0.3 1.1 1.8 0.4 0.1 -0.1
United Kingdom 0.0 -0.3 0.2 0.0 0.9 0.1 0.0 -0.3
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
Canada 5.3 7.5 5.7 3.5 5.7 1.9 6.9 7.2
Japan 3.6 5.9 5.1 1.1 0.7 1.6 1.9 -4.4
Korea 14.8 18.9 20.0 8.9 23.8 12.2 -2.2 -14.4
Taiwan 10.1 15.9 10.7 5.5 6.1 4.2 5.0 2.7
Belgium 3.2 4.7 4.0 1.5 1.1 1.3 1.3 2.7
Denmark 5.1 9.0 4.6 2.7 5.9 1.5 5.6 3.1
France 4.1 9.1 3.6 0.8 1.6 1.0 0.9 1.9
Germany 2/ 3.3 4.0 5.2 1.5 2.4 0.2 0.1 1.7
Italy 7.9 13.1 8.3 3.9 6.0 5.7 4.9 0.8
Netherlands 2.4 2.3 3.1 2.0 1.4 1.1 2.6 2.6
Norway 5.9 8.0 4.7 5.0 6.1 5.1 8.0 6.8
Sweden 6.1 8.7 7.9 3.1 12.1 6.5 3.3 5.0
United Kingdom 5.3 5.9 8.1 3.1 4.3 2.7 3.6 5.0
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, 1979-98
Average annual rates of change 1/
Country 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998
or area
Hourly compensation 3/: National currency basis
United States 4.7 7.2 3.9 3.5 2.1 1.3 3.7 5.3
Canada 5.1 8.4 5.1 2.7 3.2 -0.7 3.7 3.9
Japan 4.0 4.7 4.6 3.1 2.6 1.4 2.7 1.7
Korea NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Taiwan NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Belgium 4.9 8.1 3.7 3.2 2.9 2.6 2.8 0.8
Denmark NA 8.1 5.3 NA NA NA NA NA
France 6.3 12.8 4.5 2.9 2.5 1.7 2.6 1.4
Germany 2/ 5.1 6.0 5.0 4.5 5.3 5.1 2.3 0.8
Italy 9.1 16.7 6.8 5.0 4.6 7.2 4.2 -0.9
Netherlands 3.5 5.0 2.1 3.4 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.2
Norway 6.9 10.0 7.8 4.0 4.6 4.1 4.8 6.1
Sweden 7.0 9.6 8.5 4.2 5.0 6.8 4.3 2.7
United Kingdom 8.0 11.6 8.8 4.8 0.8 0.7 3.0 5.7
Unit labor costs: National currency basis
United States 1.6 3.7 1.7 0.1 -3.8 -0.7 -0.3 0.5
Canada 3.1 5.9 3.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.4 3.2
Japan 0.5 1.2 0.3 0.2 -4.5 -4.3 -2.1 2.5
Korea 5.6 9.2 6.0 2.8 11.3 5.1 -8.3 -7.7
Taiwan 3.5 7.3 3.5 0.6 0.1 -0.2 -1.5 -1.1
Belgium 1.1 2.0 1.5 0.2 -1.5 1.3 -3.1 0.1
Denmark 3.1 5.9 4.8 0.1 0.9 -1.2 3.4 -2.0
France 2.8 9.5 1.0 -1.0 -2.8 1.3 -4.3 -1.9
Germany 2/ 2.5 3.8 2.8 1.3 2.2 1.6 -3.4 -3.3
Italy 5.6 11.2 4.2 2.3 1.1 6.2 1.3 -1.1
Netherlands 0.2 0.5 0.0 0.1 -2.1 0.6 -2.5 0.4
Norway 5.3 7.4 6.4 3.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 3.9
Sweden 3.5 6.4 6.6 -0.4 -0.3 4.2 -2.1 0.6
United Kingdom 4.5 7.2 4.5 2.6 2.7 2.3 2.2 4.6
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, 1979-98
Average annual rates of change 1/
Country 1979-98 1979-85 1985-90 1990-98 1995 1996 1997 1998
or area
Unit labor costs: U.S. dollar basis
United States 1.6 3.7 1.7 0.1 -3.8 -0.7 -0.3 0.5
Canada 1.9 3.3 7.1 -2.3 0.2 1.3 -1.2 -3.7
Japan 3.2 -0.3 10.8 1.4 3.8 -17.3 -12.0 -5.3
Korea -0.1 -0.8 10.2 -5.6 16.2 0.8 -22.3 -37.4
Taiwan 3.8 5.5 12.0 -2.1 -0.1 -3.7 -6.0 -15.2
Belgium 0.0 -9.3 13.8 -0.8 11.7 -3.6 -16.2 -1.3
Denmark 1.8 -5.8 16.7 -0.9 14.5 -4.6 -9.3 -3.3
France 1.0 -3.3 11.6 -2.0 8.2 -1.3 -16.2 -2.9
Germany 2/ 2.7 -4.1 15.9 0.3 15.7 -3.3 -16.2 -4.7
Italy 1.6 -3.2 14.4 -2.3 0.0 12.2 -8.2 -3.0
Netherlands 0.3 -7.6 12.8 -1.0 11.0 -4.3 -15.8 -1.2
Norway 3.1 -1.7 13.3 0.6 15.8 2.0 -4.3 -2.5
Sweden 0.2 -5.2 14.8 -4.0 7.7 10.9 -14.1 -3.3
United Kingdom 3.2 -1.3 11.4 1.6 5.9 1.1 7.3 5.9
Exchange rates 4/
United States 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Canada -1.2 -2.5 3.2 -3.0 -0.4 0.6 -1.5 -6.7
Japan 2.7 -1.5 10.5 1.3 8.7 -13.6 -10.1 -7.6
Korea -5.4 -9.2 3.9 -8.1 4.4 -4.0 -15.3 -32.1
Taiwan 0.4 -1.7 8.2 -2.7 -0.1 -3.5 -4.5 -14.2
Belgium -1.1 -11.1 12.2 -1.0 13.4 -4.8 -13.5 -1.4
Denmark -1.3 -11.0 11.4 -1.0 13.5 -3.5 -12.2 -1.4
France -1.7 -11.7 10.5 -1.0 11.2 -2.5 -12.4 -1.0
Germany 2/ 0.2 -7.6 12.7 -1.1 13.2 -4.8 -13.3 -1.4
Italy -3.8 -12.9 9.8 -4.5 -1.1 5.6 -9.5 -1.9
Netherlands 0.1 -8.0 12.7 -1.1 13.4 -4.9 -13.6 -1.6
Norway -2.1 -8.4 6.6 -2.3 11.4 -1.9 -8.8 -6.2
Sweden -3.2 -11.0 7.8 -3.6 8.1 6.4 -12.2 -3.9
United Kingdom -1.3 -7.9 6.6 -0.9 3.0 -1.1 4.9 1.2
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
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
Unit Labor Costs Unit Labor Costs
National Currency Basis U.S. Dollar Basis
Year Own Competitors Own Competitors
Index Index Ratio Index Index Ratio
1979 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1980 112.3 111.9 100.4 112.3 110.2 101.9
1981 117.6 120.9 97.3 117.6 109.6 107.3
1982 125.2 129.2 96.9 125.2 106.2 117.8
1983 122.9 131.2 93.6 122.9 104.8 117.3
1984 122.3 131.8 92.8 122.3 99.3 123.1
1985 124.4 133.1 93.5 124.4 97.2 127.9
1986 129.2 138.5 93.3 129.2 121.7 106.2
1987 124.4 140.6 88.5 124.4 139.7 89.0
1988 124.6 141.8 87.9 124.6 152.1 81.9
1989 129.7 145.5 89.1 129.7 151.8 85.5
1990 135.0 151.5 89.1 135.0 163.4 82.6
1991 141.3 158.1 89.4 141.3 173.1 81.7
1992 145.4 162.6 89.4 145.4 181.4 80.1
1993 146.4 165.2 88.6 146.4 179.8 81.4
1994 141.9 163.4 86.8 141.9 180.6 78.6
1995 136.5 162.9 83.8 136.5 190.2 71.8
1996 135.5 162.8 83.2 135.5 180.6 75.0
1997 135.1 160.3 84.3 135.1 164.3 82.2
1998 135.8 161.7 84.0 135.8 154.1 88.1
- 17 -
Table 1. Output per hour in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 28.0 NA NA NA NA 22.6 13.2 13.2 11.2 11.3 24.5 19.7 25.5
1955 NA 34.4 8.7 NA NA NA 24.6 16.7 19.7 15.7 14.4 28.5 21.6 27.5
1960 NA 40.7 14.0 NA NA 18.0 29.9 21.8 29.2 19.6 18.6 36.7 27.6 31.2
1961 NA 42.9 15.8 NA NA 18.2 31.6 23.2 30.6 21.2 19.6 38.0 29.0 31.2
1962 NA 46.3 16.6 NA NA 19.2 33.2 24.7 32.8 23.5 20.4 38.0 31.3 31.9
1963 NA 48.2 18.0 NA NA 19.9 34.3 26.0 34.1 24.1 21.2 40.0 33.1 33.6
1964 NA 50.4 20.4 NA NA 21.2 37.1 28.1 37.1 24.4 23.1 42.2 36.0 35.8
1965 NA 52.9 21.2 NA NA 22.3 38.9 30.0 39.3 27.1 24.7 44.7 38.7 36.9
1966 NA 53.8 23.3 NA NA 23.8 40.8 32.5 40.9 29.5 26.3 46.6 40.3 38.1
1967 NA 54.3 26.3 NA NA 25.1 43.8 34.5 43.4 31.0 28.3 48.3 43.7 39.9
1968 NA 57.6 29.5 NA NA 27.3 47.8 38.1 47.0 33.4 31.8 51.3 47.8 42.7
1969 NA 60.6 33.8 NA NA 29.9 49.8 40.6 50.4 34.6 34.9 56.1 51.5 43.7
1970 NA 59.2 38.0 NA NA 32.9 52.7 43.1 52.0 36.8 38.1 57.8 52.8 44.7
1971 NA 62.7 40.2 NA NA 35.1 56.3 45.6 54.0 37.4 40.4 60.1 55.1 46.8
1972 NA 65.7 44.1 NA NA 39.2 60.8 47.7 57.4 40.6 43.6 63.6 57.9 49.5
1973 NA 69.6 48.1 NA NA 43.5 66.9 51.0 61.1 44.0 48.3 67.6 62.1 53.0
1974 NA 70.8 49.3 NA NA 45.8 69.1 52.2 63.2 46.8 51.9 70.6 64.8 53.9
1975 NA 68.2 50.7 NA NA 47.6 76.1 54.0 65.9 45.2 51.2 69.7 65.8 52.8
1976 NA 73.1 53.8 NA NA 52.4 78.8 57.3 70.6 51.5 56.8 71.9 66.8 55.0
1977 70.6 77.1 55.9 NA NA 55.0 80.4 60.7 72.7 52.5 61.4 71.5 65.8 55.5
1978 71.1 78.5 58.1 NA NA 58.3 81.6 63.4 75.2 55.9 65.4 72.8 67.6 56.3
1979 72.1 78.4 62.9 NA NA 61.4 85.6 66.3 78.4 61.3 68.6 78.1 72.9 56.7
1980 71.9 75.3 63.9 NA NA 65.4 90.3 66.7 77.2 64.1 69.2 76.7 74.0 56.1
1981 75.5 77.1 66.0 NA NA 70.1 91.8 68.6 78.7 65.6 70.8 76.5 73.5 59.0
1982 77.8 75.3 68.7 NA NA 73.5 92.1 73.4 78.8 66.8 72.1 79.7 76.7 62.3
1983 81.4 79.8 69.6 NA NA 81.0 96.6 75.0 82.6 70.4 77.8 82.4 81.8 67.1
1984 84.6 86.6 71.9 NA NA 85.0 96.1 76.1 85.4 77.3 85.4 87.4 85.6 70.7
1985 87.8 89.8 77.3 NA NA 87.0 96.7 79.1 89.1 81.6 89.0 90.2 87.1 72.3
1986 88.3 89.3 76.9 NA NA 87.8 91.1 80.4 89.6 82.7 90.8 89.0 88.5 74.8
1987 94.4 91.3 81.2 NA NA 88.9 90.6 81.8 88.1 85.1 91.6 93.3 90.1 79.4
1988 98.0 91.1 84.8 NA NA 92.0 94.1 87.4 91.5 86.7 93.7 92.1 90.8 82.3
1989 97.1 92.4 89.5 NA NA 96.9 99.6 91.9 94.6 89.4 97.1 94.6 93.8 86.2
1990 97.8 95.3 95.4 NA NA 96.8 99.1 93.5 99.0 92.5 98.6 96.6 95.0 88.3
1991 98.3 95.1 99.4 NA NA 99.1 99.6 96.9 101.9 95.2 99.6 97.5 95.0 92.2
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 102.1 102.5 100.5 NA NA 102.5 104.5 100.6 100.6 102.9 101.4 100.6 106.7 104.0
1994 108.3 106.2 101.8 NA NA 108.4 NA 108.5 107.9 105.6 112.7 101.4 116.1 106.8
1995 114.9 108.9 109.3 NA NA 113.2 NA 114.4 111.2 109.3 117.7 102.0 122.4 104.8
1996 117.3 107.3 115.8 NA NA 114.7 NA 114.9 115.1 110.3 119.7 102.0 125.4 103.2
1997 122.1 111.0 121.4 NA NA 121.8 NA 123.2 121.8 113.4 125.7 101.9 133.6 104.0
1998 127.9 111.7 120.4 NA NA 122.6 NA 127.4 127.1 113.6 127.8 104.1 136.5 105.1
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.
- 18 -
Table 2. Output per employed person in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
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 NA 41.8 17.3 NA NA 22.6 39.2 26.6 38.4 22.4 24.5 46.2 33.7 35.9
1961 NA 43.9 19.3 NA NA 22.9 40.2 28.3 39.6 24.0 24.8 47.2 35.1 35.5
1962 NA 47.7 19.8 NA NA 24.1 42.6 30.1 41.3 25.7 25.6 47.0 37.5 35.9
1963 NA 49.8 21.2 NA NA 25.0 43.3 31.8 42.4 26.5 26.5 49.2 39.3 37.8
1964 NA 52.3 24.0 NA NA 26.5 47.2 34.0 46.1 26.8 28.7 52.3 42.3 40.6
1965 NA 54.9 24.5 NA NA 27.4 49.5 36.1 48.7 28.9 30.5 54.1 45.1 41.2
1966 NA 55.4 27.0 NA NA 29.1 51.0 39.2 50.0 31.7 32.4 56.6 47.0 41.8
1967 NA 56.0 30.6 NA NA 30.3 54.1 41.2 51.7 33.8 34.7 58.1 50.1 43.4
1968 NA 59.3 34.2 NA NA 33.0 57.7 44.3 56.6 36.4 38.2 60.1 53.6 46.9
1969 NA 62.0 38.6 NA NA 35.7 59.3 48.2 60.7 37.5 41.4 64.3 56.8 48.1
1970 NA 60.3 43.0 NA NA 38.3 60.8 50.5 62.4 39.2 44.4 65.7 58.1 48.4
1971 NA 63.7 44.8 NA NA 40.2 64.6 53.0 63.4 38.7 46.5 67.6 60.5 49.5
1972 NA 66.7 48.9 NA NA 43.9 68.4 54.9 66.6 41.7 49.5 70.6 61.8 51.8
1973 NA 70.2 52.8 NA NA 47.6 71.2 57.8 70.4 45.7 53.8 74.6 65.2 56.2
1974 NA 70.9 52.0 NA NA 48.7 75.0 58.3 71.4 46.9 56.0 76.9 67.3 55.3
1975 NA 67.4 52.2 NA NA 48.0 79.9 58.6 72.5 44.6 54.2 75.6 67.0 54.0
1976 NA 72.4 57.0 NA NA 53.8 83.2 62.4 79.9 50.7 60.0 76.0 67.2 56.8
1977 69.2 76.3 59.4 NA NA 56.1 84.1 65.5 81.1 51.5 64.6 74.4 65.6 57.7
1978 69.8 78.1 62.0 NA NA 59.4 84.3 67.8 82.8 54.7 68.2 73.9 65.7 58.2
1979 70.3 77.8 67.5 NA NA 62.6 88.4 70.8 86.0 59.5 70.7 78.0 69.8 58.4
1980 69.3 74.0 68.6 NA NA 65.6 93.9 71.2 83.5 62.4 71.8 77.1 70.1 55.9
1981 72.7 75.8 70.3 NA NA 68.7 94.3 72.3 84.1 63.8 73.8 76.9 70.1 57.9
1982 73.6 73.6 73.0 NA NA 73.7 96.0 74.2 83.7 64.8 75.9 79.4 73.4 61.7
1983 79.1 79.1 74.0 NA NA 79.2 102.1 75.5 87.9 68.3 82.1 82.5 79.2 66.7
1984 83.5 85.8 77.3 NA NA 82.5 101.2 76.8 90.9 75.0 88.8 87.4 84.4 70.8
1985 86.6 89.2 82.8 NA NA 85.7 98.4 79.2 93.1 78.6 90.2 89.8 85.2 73.1
1986 87.1 88.9 81.9 NA NA 86.5 94.9 80.7 93.0 81.6 91.5 88.7 86.3 75.8
1987 93.5 91.5 86.7 NA NA 88.4 92.2 82.6 91.3 85.5 91.9 90.7 88.9 80.1
1988 98.0 93.0 91.7 NA NA 93.0 95.8 88.5 94.4 90.1 94.7 90.3 89.4 85.0
1989 97.2 93.5 95.6 NA NA 97.5 100.2 92.9 96.2 92.7 97.6 93.3 92.1 88.1
1990 97.2 95.7 100.5 NA NA 98.5 98.4 94.1 98.8 93.6 99.1 95.1 94.3 90.0
1991 97.0 94.9 102.5 NA NA 99.2 99.3 96.4 101.0 95.3 99.8 96.4 94.3 93.0
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 103.4 103.9 98.1 NA NA 100.9 103.6 100.5 97.6 100.9 101.4 100.9 109.5 103.8
1994 110.7 108.3 99.5 NA NA 109.7 114.0 108.5 104.7 106.4 112.7 102.0 122.7 108.1
1995 116.7 110.5 107.6 NA NA 113.3 116.9 113.8 107.3 110.2 118.1 101.6 131.7 107.0
1996 119.1 110.3 114.9 NA NA 115.3 120.4 114.5 109.3 110.3 119.9 101.1 135.5 105.6
1997 124.8 114.3 119.7 NA NA 122.5 121.0 122.5 116.0 113.8 125.4 100.6 144.5 106.5
1998 130.1 114.4 116.2 NA NA 123.5 124.4 127.0 122.3 113.8 127.3 102.7 147.5 107.3
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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
- 19 -
Table 3. Output in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 22.6 2.2 NA NA NA 26.8 18.4 14.5 9.4 16.8 38.2 31.2 49.8
1955 NA 29.3 4.9 NA NA NA 29.4 22.9 27.5 14.5 23.0 46.7 36.1 58.5
1960 NA 34.2 10.7 NA NA 30.7 40.8 31.0 41.5 21.4 31.7 56.5 46.5 67.7
1961 NA 35.6 12.8 NA NA 32.1 43.0 33.3 44.0 23.6 32.8 58.8 49.6 67.8
1962 NA 39.7 13.9 NA NA 34.6 46.7 35.7 46.2 26.1 34.5 59.3 53.4 68.0
1963 NA 42.4 15.5 NA NA 36.2 47.3 38.4 47.1 27.8 35.9 62.9 56.0 70.4
1964 NA 46.5 18.0 NA NA 39.5 52.9 42.0 51.2 28.2 39.3 67.3 61.0 76.8
1965 NA 51.0 18.7 NA NA 40.8 56.3 44.1 55.0 29.6 42.1 70.9 65.3 79.0
1966 NA 54.4 21.2 NA NA 43.2 57.5 48.1 55.9 32.3 44.3 75.1 67.1 80.4
1967 NA 55.5 25.4 NA NA 43.7 58.1 50.4 54.7 35.5 46.1 77.5 69.3 80.9
1968 NA 59.1 29.3 NA NA 46.7 62.6 53.2 60.3 38.9 50.4 79.4 72.9 86.6
1969 NA 63.1 34.1 NA NA 52.2 66.0 59.6 67.4 41.4 55.3 85.2 78.6 89.9
1970 NA 60.5 38.8 6.3 13.2 57.6 68.0 64.1 70.9 44.7 59.5 89.1 81.7 90.3
1971 NA 64.3 40.7 7.5 16.2 60.1 69.4 68.1 71.6 45.3 61.5 92.3 82.2 89.3
1972 NA 69.7 44.4 8.6 19.5 64.7 75.3 71.3 73.8 47.8 63.2 96.7 82.7 91.2
1973 NA 76.8 50.0 11.1 22.9 70.6 79.5 76.7 78.5 54.0 67.7 102.2 88.5 99.6
1974 NA 78.7 48.7 13.0 21.7 73.4 80.7 78.2 77.7 57.4 70.2 107.3 93.3 98.3
1975 NA 73.0 46.2 14.3 22.6 67.9 78.7 76.6 74.1 54.1 65.6 105.0 93.6 91.6
1976 NA 78.9 50.2 18.1 27.7 73.0 82.5 81.1 79.8 62.2 69.6 105.2 93.6 93.3
1977 74.9 81.5 51.8 20.9 31.2 73.3 82.9 84.8 81.3 64.4 73.1 103.0 88.3 95.1
1978 78.7 86.1 53.3 25.5 37.7 74.3 82.7 86.8 82.8 67.5 75.4 100.6 85.9 95.6
1979 81.3 89.5 57.9 28.1 40.7 76.2 87.4 89.3 87.1 74.6 77.3 104.7 91.4 95.4
1980 77.3 85.4 59.9 27.7 44.7 78.2 91.3 88.7 85.3 78.4 77.4 103.6 91.8 87.2
1981 80.7 87.5 62.1 30.5 48.1 77.2 88.4 87.3 84.4 76.8 77.5 101.7 88.9 81.8
1982 76.2 77.7 64.1 32.6 49.1 80.4 89.8 88.2 81.5 75.7 76.7 101.3 89.8 81.7
1983 80.5 81.8 66.1 37.6 54.8 84.6 95.8 88.0 82.7 76.3 79.1 99.9 95.0 83.4
1984 89.1 92.7 70.4 42.3 62.7 87.2 100.3 87.0 85.2 79.8 83.6 104.7 101.7 86.5
1985 91.8 97.5 76.1 46.7 64.8 89.1 103.5 87.3 88.3 82.4 86.1 108.5 103.9 89.0
1986 91.0 98.6 74.9 55.7 74.6 89.1 103.5 87.3 89.7 84.5 88.3 108.1 105.2 90.1
1987 97.9 103.2 78.4 66.6 84.4 88.8 99.3 87.2 88.0 88.2 89.5 110.7 107.7 94.4
1988 104.5 109.3 84.6 75.8 87.9 93.3 100.8 92.2 90.9 94.5 92.8 105.3 110.2 101.4
1989 104.0 110.8 90.2 79.0 91.2 99.1 104.3 97.2 94.0 98.1 96.9 101.3 111.6 105.4
1990 102.5 106.6 96.3 86.7 90.8 101.0 102.7 99.1 99.1 99.6 100.1 100.2 110.6 105.3
1991 98.7 98.8 101.4 95.0 96.9 100.7 101.7 99.8 102.8 99.2 100.6 98.3 103.6 100.0
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 103.5 105.1 96.0 105.4 102.5 97.0 99.0 95.7 91.8 96.4 98.2 102.7 101.3 101.4
1994 112.2 113.2 95.4 116.8 108.4 101.4 109.3 100.3 93.5 102.2 104.2 106.7 115.7 106.1
1995 119.6 118.8 100.6 129.9 114.9 104.2 114.7 104.8 93.7 107.2 107.8 109.0 130.1 107.8
1996 121.6 120.2 106.7 138.7 120.0 104.2 117.8 104.5 92.5 106.7 108.4 110.1 132.9 108.2
1997 128.8 128.0 111.1 147.8 128.0 109.0 120.3 110.2 95.8 110.4 114.1 113.3 140.3 109.6
1998 135.0 133.0 103.6 137.2 133.0 111.8 126.5 114.6 100.7 112.5 116.6 116.4 146.4 110.0
NA: Not Available
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
- 20 -
Table 4. Total hours in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 85.5 80.7 NA NA NA NA 118.7 139.6 109.8 83.8 148.6 156.0 158.5 195.7
1955 94.6 85.1 55.9 NA NA NA 119.8 137.7 139.6 92.8 159.1 164.1 167.3 213.1
1960 92.1 84.1 76.3 NA NA 170.7 136.5 142.1 142.3 109.0 170.6 154.0 168.3 217.3
1961 89.7 83.0 80.8 NA NA 175.9 136.2 143.5 143.9 111.2 167.1 154.8 171.0 217.4
1962 93.4 85.8 83.4 NA NA 180.3 140.7 144.5 140.8 111.1 169.2 156.2 170.8 213.2
1963 94.4 87.9 86.1 NA NA 181.8 138.0 147.6 138.1 115.3 169.5 157.3 169.1 209.6
1964 96.4 92.2 88.2 NA NA 186.5 142.6 149.4 138.0 115.6 170.0 159.5 169.6 214.6
1965 102.0 96.4 88.0 NA NA 183.2 144.9 146.6 140.0 109.1 170.4 158.4 168.8 214.3
1966 108.6 101.1 91.0 NA NA 181.5 140.8 148.0 136.7 109.7 168.3 161.1 166.5 211.2
1967 108.0 102.1 96.3 NA NA 173.6 132.7 145.9 125.9 114.8 162.7 160.4 158.4 203.0
1968 109.6 102.5 99.4 NA NA 170.9 130.9 139.5 128.3 116.4 158.8 154.9 152.6 202.8
1969 110.9 104.2 100.9 NA NA 174.9 132.7 146.8 133.8 119.5 158.5 152.0 152.5 205.6
1970 104.4 102.1 102.3 NA NA 174.7 129.0 148.7 136.3 121.2 156.2 154.3 154.7 202.1
1971 100.5 102.5 101.1 NA NA 171.4 123.3 149.4 132.5 121.0 152.4 153.6 149.1 190.6
1972 105.1 106.1 100.6 NA NA 165.2 123.8 149.6 128.7 117.9 144.9 152.1 142.9 184.3
1973 110.4 110.3 104.0 NA NA 162.1 118.8 150.3 128.4 122.7 140.2 151.2 142.5 187.8
1974 107.9 111.1 98.7 NA NA 160.4 116.7 149.9 122.9 122.8 135.4 152.0 144.0 182.4
1975 97.2 107.0 91.1 NA NA 142.6 103.5 142.0 112.5 119.6 128.2 150.5 142.3 173.6
1976 101.9 108.0 93.3 NA NA 139.4 104.7 141.6 113.1 120.9 122.7 146.2 140.2 169.5
1977 106.1 105.7 92.5 NA NA 133.3 103.1 139.8 111.8 122.6 119.1 144.1 134.2 171.2
1978 110.6 109.7 91.6 NA NA 127.4 101.4 137.0 110.1 120.7 115.2 138.3 127.1 169.7
1979 112.7 114.2 92.0 NA NA 124.2 102.1 134.6 111.0 121.7 112.7 134.1 125.5 168.1
1980 107.5 113.5 93.8 NA NA 119.7 101.1 133.1 110.5 122.4 111.8 135.0 124.0 155.3
1981 107.0 113.4 94.1 NA NA 110.2 96.3 127.2 107.1 117.2 109.4 133.0 121.0 138.6
1982 97.9 103.2 93.3 NA NA 109.4 97.5 120.2 103.4 113.3 106.3 127.1 117.2 131.2
1983 98.9 102.4 95.0 NA NA 104.3 99.2 117.4 100.1 108.5 101.6 121.2 116.1 124.2
1984 105.3 107.0 97.9 NA NA 102.6 104.4 114.2 99.7 103.2 97.9 119.7 118.9 122.4
1985 104.6 108.6 98.4 NA NA 102.4 107.0 110.5 99.1 100.9 96.7 120.2 119.4 123.1
1986 103.0 110.5 97.3 NA NA 101.5 113.7 108.7 100.1 102.1 97.3 121.6 118.9 120.4
1987 103.8 113.0 96.6 NA NA 100.0 109.6 106.6 99.9 103.6 97.7 118.6 119.5 118.9
1988 106.6 120.0 99.8 NA NA 101.5 107.2 105.5 99.3 108.9 99.0 114.3 121.4 123.2
1989 107.1 119.9 100.8 NA NA 102.3 104.7 105.8 99.3 109.7 99.8 107.1 119.0 122.3
1990 104.8 111.9 100.9 NA NA 104.3 103.7 105.9 100.1 107.7 101.5 103.7 116.4 119.2
1991 100.4 103.8 102.0 NA NA 101.5 102.1 103.0 100.9 104.2 101.0 100.8 109.0 108.5
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 101.4 102.6 95.6 NA NA 94.7 94.8 95.1 91.3 93.6 96.9 102.1 94.9 97.5
1994 103.6 106.6 93.7 NA NA 93.6 NA 92.4 86.7 96.7 92.4 105.2 99.6 99.4
1995 104.0 109.1 92.0 NA NA 92.0 NA 91.6 84.3 98.0 91.6 106.9 106.3 102.9
1996 103.7 112.0 92.2 NA NA 90.8 NA 91.0 80.4 96.7 90.5 107.9 106.0 104.8
1997 105.5 115.4 91.5 NA NA 89.5 NA 89.5 78.6 97.4 90.8 111.1 105.0 105.4
1998 105.6 119.0 86.1 NA NA 91.2 NA 89.9 79.3 99.0 91.2 111.9 107.3 104.7
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.
- 21 -
Table 5. Employment in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
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 92.6 81.9 61.7 NA NA 135.7 104.1 116.6 108.1 95.4 129.4 122.2 137.8 188.5
1961 90.0 81.2 66.4 NA NA 140.1 107.0 117.4 111.3 98.4 132.2 124.8 141.3 191.1
1962 92.8 83.3 70.0 NA NA 143.3 109.7 118.5 111.8 101.5 134.7 126.3 142.2 189.4
1963 93.5 85.1 72.8 NA NA 144.7 109.3 121.1 111.0 104.8 135.4 127.8 142.4 186.4
1964 94.9 88.9 75.0 NA NA 148.8 112.0 123.3 111.0 105.1 137.1 128.8 144.3 189.2
1965 99.3 93.0 76.1 NA NA 148.7 113.9 122.2 113.0 102.6 137.9 130.9 144.8 191.7
1966 105.4 98.2 78.3 NA NA 148.5 112.8 122.8 111.8 102.0 137.0 132.8 143.0 192.2
1967 106.7 99.1 82.8 NA NA 143.9 107.5 122.3 105.8 105.3 132.9 133.5 138.3 186.3
1968 108.5 99.7 85.7 NA NA 141.5 108.5 120.3 106.6 106.7 132.1 132.0 136.0 184.5
1969 110.6 101.7 88.2 NA NA 146.3 111.4 123.7 111.0 110.4 133.7 132.6 138.4 187.1
1970 106.3 100.3 90.3 NA NA 150.2 111.9 126.9 113.6 114.0 134.3 135.6 140.6 186.7
1971 102.2 101.1 90.7 NA NA 149.6 107.3 128.5 112.9 117.0 132.2 136.4 135.9 180.4
1972 105.0 104.5 90.8 NA NA 147.4 110.1 129.9 110.8 114.8 127.5 136.9 133.8 176.1
1973 110.5 109.4 94.6 NA NA 148.4 111.6 132.6 111.5 118.1 125.8 136.9 135.8 177.2
1974 110.1 111.0 93.7 NA NA 150.7 107.6 134.0 108.9 122.4 125.4 139.5 138.7 177.8
1975 100.6 108.3 88.5 NA NA 141.5 98.5 130.7 102.2 121.4 121.0 138.7 139.8 169.7
1976 104.2 109.1 88.0 NA NA 135.8 99.2 130.0 99.9 122.7 116.0 138.4 139.4 164.3
1977 108.2 106.9 87.1 NA NA 130.5 98.5 129.5 100.3 125.0 113.1 138.5 134.5 164.8
1978 112.7 110.2 85.9 NA NA 125.0 98.0 128.0 100.0 123.5 110.5 136.1 130.7 164.2
1979 115.6 115.1 85.7 NA NA 121.8 98.8 126.1 101.2 125.4 109.3 134.2 131.0 163.2
1980 111.6 115.5 87.4 NA NA 119.3 97.2 124.6 102.2 125.8 107.8 134.5 130.9 155.9
1981 111.0 115.4 88.3 NA NA 112.4 93.8 120.7 100.3 120.4 105.0 132.3 127.0 141.2
1982 103.5 105.7 87.9 NA NA 109.2 93.6 118.9 97.4 116.7 101.0 127.5 122.4 132.5
1983 101.8 103.4 89.3 NA NA 106.8 93.9 116.6 94.1 111.8 96.4 121.0 119.9 125.1
1984 106.8 108.0 91.1 NA NA 105.7 99.1 113.3 93.7 106.4 94.2 119.8 120.5 122.2
1985 106.0 109.4 91.9 NA NA 104.0 105.2 110.2 94.9 104.8 95.4 120.7 122.0 121.7
1986 104.5 110.8 91.4 NA NA 103.0 109.1 108.3 96.4 103.5 96.5 122.0 121.9 118.9
1987 104.7 112.7 90.4 NA NA 100.5 107.7 105.6 96.4 103.1 97.4 122.0 121.1 117.9
1988 106.6 117.6 92.4 NA NA 100.4 105.3 104.1 96.3 104.8 98.0 116.6 123.3 119.3
1989 107.0 118.6 94.3 NA NA 101.7 104.1 104.7 97.6 105.8 99.3 108.7 121.2 119.7
1990 105.4 111.4 95.8 NA NA 102.5 104.3 105.4 100.3 106.4 101.1 105.4 117.2 116.9
1991 101.8 104.0 98.9 NA NA 101.5 102.4 103.6 101.8 104.1 100.7 101.9 109.9 107.5
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.1 101.2 97.9 NA NA 96.1 95.5 95.2 94.0 95.5 96.9 101.8 92.6 97.7
1994 101.3 104.5 95.9 NA NA 92.5 95.8 92.4 89.3 96.0 92.4 104.7 94.2 98.2
1995 102.5 107.5 93.5 NA NA 91.9 98.1 92.1 87.3 97.2 91.3 107.2 98.8 100.7
1996 102.2 109.0 92.9 NA NA 90.3 97.8 91.3 84.6 96.7 90.3 108.9 98.1 102.5
1997 103.2 112.0 92.8 NA NA 89.0 99.4 90.0 82.6 96.9 91.0 112.6 97.1 102.9
1998 103.8 116.2 89.2 NA NA 90.5 101.6 90.2 82.4 98.8 91.5 113.3 99.3 102.6
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 Former Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 101.4 107.4 NA NA NA NA 140.7 123.0 146.0 110.2 130.3 130.8 129.9 116.2
1955 101.5 103.4 118.7 NA NA NA 138.2 121.8 146.1 113.0 130.6 131.1 129.0 117.7
1960 99.5 102.7 123.5 NA NA 125.8 131.2 121.8 131.7 114.3 131.9 126.0 122.1 115.3
1961 99.6 102.2 121.6 NA NA 125.5 127.3 122.2 129.4 113.1 126.5 124.1 121.1 113.7
1962 100.6 103.0 119.2 NA NA 125.8 128.3 121.9 126.0 109.5 125.6 123.7 120.1 112.6
1963 100.9 103.3 118.2 NA NA 125.7 126.3 121.9 124.4 110.0 125.2 123.1 118.8 112.5
1964 101.6 103.7 117.6 NA NA 125.3 127.4 121.1 124.3 110.0 124.0 123.9 117.5 113.4
1965 102.7 103.7 115.6 NA NA 123.2 127.2 120.0 123.9 106.4 123.6 121.0 116.6 111.8
1966 103.0 103.0 116.2 NA NA 122.2 124.8 120.5 122.3 107.6 122.9 121.3 116.4 109.8
1967 101.2 103.1 116.3 NA NA 120.7 123.4 119.3 119.0 109.1 122.4 120.2 114.5 109.0
1968 101.0 102.8 116.0 NA NA 120.7 120.6 116.0 120.4 109.1 120.2 117.3 112.2 109.9
1969 100.2 102.5 114.4 NA NA 119.5 119.1 118.7 120.6 108.3 118.5 114.6 110.2 109.9
1970 98.2 101.8 113.3 NA NA 116.3 115.3 117.2 119.9 106.4 116.4 113.8 110.0 108.2
1971 98.4 101.5 111.4 NA NA 114.6 114.9 116.3 117.3 103.4 115.3 112.6 109.7 105.6
1972 100.0 101.5 110.8 NA NA 112.0 112.4 115.1 116.2 102.7 113.6 111.0 106.8 104.7
1973 99.9 100.8 109.9 NA NA 109.3 106.4 113.3 115.2 103.9 111.4 110.4 104.9 106.0
1974 98.0 100.1 105.3 NA NA 106.4 108.5 111.9 112.9 100.3 108.0 108.9 103.8 102.6
1975 96.6 98.9 103.0 NA NA 100.7 105.1 108.6 110.1 98.5 106.0 108.5 101.8 102.3
1976 97.7 99.0 106.0 NA NA 102.6 105.6 108.9 113.2 98.5 105.8 105.7 100.6 103.2
1977 98.1 98.9 106.2 NA NA 102.1 104.6 107.9 111.5 98.0 105.3 104.0 99.8 103.8
1978 98.1 99.6 106.7 NA NA 101.9 103.4 107.0 110.1 97.8 104.3 101.6 97.2 103.4
1979 97.5 99.2 107.3 NA NA 102.0 103.3 106.7 109.7 97.1 103.1 99.9 95.8 103.0
1980 96.3 98.3 107.3 NA NA 100.4 104.0 106.8 108.1 97.3 103.7 100.4 94.8 99.6
1981 96.4 98.3 106.5 NA NA 98.1 102.7 105.4 106.8 97.3 104.2 100.6 95.3 98.1
1982 94.6 97.6 106.2 NA NA 100.2 104.2 101.1 106.2 97.1 105.3 99.7 95.7 99.1
1983 97.2 99.1 106.4 NA NA 97.7 105.6 100.7 106.4 97.1 105.4 100.1 96.8 99.4
1984 98.6 99.1 107.4 NA NA 97.1 105.3 100.8 106.4 97.1 104.0 99.9 98.6 100.2
1985 98.7 99.3 107.1 NA NA 98.5 101.8 100.2 104.5 96.2 101.3 99.6 97.9 101.1
1986 98.6 99.6 106.5 NA NA 98.6 104.2 100.4 103.9 98.6 100.8 99.7 97.5 101.3
1987 99.1 100.3 106.8 NA NA 99.4 101.8 101.0 103.6 100.4 100.3 97.2 98.7 100.8
1988 100.0 102.1 108.0 NA NA 101.1 101.8 101.3 103.2 104.0 101.1 98.0 98.5 103.2
1989 100.0 101.1 106.8 NA NA 100.6 100.6 101.1 101.7 103.7 100.5 98.6 98.2 102.2
1990 99.4 100.4 105.3 NA NA 101.8 99.4 100.6 99.8 101.2 100.5 98.4 99.3 101.9
1991 98.7 99.8 103.2 NA NA 100.0 99.7 99.4 99.1 100.1 100.2 98.9 99.2 100.9
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 101.3 101.4 97.7 NA NA 98.5 99.2 99.9 97.0 98.0 100.0 100.3 102.6 99.8
1994 102.2 102.0 97.7 NA NA 101.2 NA 100.0 97.1 100.7 100.0 100.5 105.7 101.3
1995 101.5 101.5 98.4 NA NA 100.1 NA 99.5 96.5 100.8 100.3 99.7 107.6 102.2
1996 101.5 102.8 99.2 NA NA 100.5 NA 99.6 95.0 100.0 100.2 99.1 108.0 102.3
1997 102.2 103.0 98.6 NA NA 100.6 NA 99.4 95.2 100.4 99.8 98.7 108.2 102.4
1998 101.8 102.4 96.5 NA NA 100.7 NA 99.7 96.2 100.2 99.6 98.7 108.1 102.1
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.
- 23 -
Table 7. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
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 14.9 10.4 4.3 NA NA 5.4 4.6 4.3 8.1 1.6 6.4 4.7 4.1 3.1
1961 15.3 10.7 5.0 NA NA 5.7 5.2 4.7 9.1 1.7 7.3 5.2 4.5 3.3
1962 15.9 11.1 5.7 NA NA 6.2 5.6 5.2 10.3 2.1 7.8 5.7 5.0 3.4
1963 16.4 11.6 6.4 NA NA 6.8 6.1 5.7 11.0 2.4 8.6 6.1 5.6 3.6
1964 17.0 12.1 7.2 NA NA 7.7 6.6 6.2 11.9 2.6 9.9 6.5 6.1 3.8
1965 17.4 12.8 8.1 NA NA 8.5 7.4 6.7 13.1 2.8 11.1 7.2 6.7 4.2
1966 18.2 13.7 9.0 NA NA 9.4 8.4 7.1 14.2 3.0 12.5 7.8 7.3 4.5
1967 19.2 14.4 10.0 NA NA 10.3 9.4 7.6 15.0 3.3 13.8 8.7 8.1 4.7
1968 20.7 15.4 11.7 NA NA 11.0 10.3 8.6 16.1 3.5 15.4 9.6 8.8 5.0
1969 22.2 16.6 13.8 NA NA 12.1 11.6 9.2 17.6 3.8 17.4 10.6 9.6 5.5
1970 23.7 17.8 16.5 NA NA 13.7 13.3 10.3 20.7 4.7 20.2 11.8 10.8 6.3
1971 25.2 18.8 19.0 NA NA 15.9 15.2 11.6 23.2 5.4 23.1 13.5 12.1 7.2
1972 26.5 20.2 21.9 NA NA 18.8 16.9 12.8 25.6 6.0 26.5 15.1 13.5 8.3
1973 28.5 21.9 26.8 NA NA 22.3 20.5 14.7 29.0 7.1 31.6 17.0 15.2 9.5
1974 31.6 25.4 35.1 NA NA 27.4 24.8 17.4 33.0 9.3 37.7 19.9 17.8 11.4
1975 35.5 29.1 40.9 NA NA 33.1 29.6 21.3 36.4 11.7 43.1 23.8 21.9 15.1
1976 38.4 33.3 44.0 NA NA 38.3 33.0 24.4 39.1 14.5 48.1 27.5 25.6 17.6
1977 41.8 37.0 48.6 NA NA 41.4 36.5 27.7 42.8 17.2 52.5 30.9 28.0 19.8
1978 45.2 39.7 51.8 NA NA 44.4 40.2 31.2 45.9 19.8 56.8 34.1 31.2 23.1
1979 49.6 43.2 55.1 NA NA 47.2 45.0 35.4 49.3 24.0 61.1 35.8 33.6 27.5
1980 55.6 47.7 58.6 NA NA 52.5 49.6 40.8 53.6 28.2 64.4 39.0 37.4 33.2
1981 61.1 53.3 62.7 NA NA 57.3 54.6 47.2 57.0 34.1 67.4 43.3 41.3 38.5
1982 67.0 59.9 65.8 NA NA 59.9 59.5 56.1 60.4 40.2 71.5 48.2 44.3 42.4
1983 68.8 63.7 67.6 NA NA 65.7 63.6 61.9 63.1 47.0 74.9 52.9 48.8 45.5
1984 71.2 66.1 69.7 NA NA 71.4 67.2 67.2 66.0 53.9 77.7 57.9 53.0 49.1
1985 75.1 69.9 72.5 NA NA 75.3 71.7 72.8 70.0 60.6 81.8 63.4 58.4 53.1
1986 78.5 72.5 76.1 NA NA 77.3 73.2 75.8 72.8 63.1 85.0 69.1 63.1 57.6
1987 80.7 75.3 77.9 NA NA 79.7 80.1 78.6 76.0 66.7 87.8 78.5 67.3 64.8
1988 84.0 77.8 79.2 NA NA 81.1 82.9 81.6 79.1 69.3 87.7 83.3 71.7 67.7
1989 86.6 82.5 84.2 NA NA 85.9 87.7 86.0 83.2 75.9 88.5 87.2 79.4 72.9
1990 90.8 89.5 90.7 NA NA 90.1 92.7 90.6 89.4 84.4 90.8 92.3 87.6 80.9
1991 95.6 94.7 95.9 NA NA 97.3 95.9 96.2 95.1 93.6 95.2 97.5 95.4 90.5
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 102.7 99.6 104.6 NA NA 104.8 104.6 102.8 105.9 107.5 103.7 101.5 98.0 104.3
1994 105.6 100.4 106.7 NA NA 106.1 NA 105.0 111.7 107.8 108.2 104.4 101.1 106.5
1995 107.9 103.6 109.5 NA NA 109.2 NA 107.6 117.7 112.8 110.6 109.2 106.2 107.4
1996 109.3 102.8 110.9 NA NA 112.0 NA 109.5 123.7 120.9 113.2 113.6 113.4 108.2
1997 113.4 106.7 113.9 NA NA 115.2 NA 112.3 126.6 125.9 115.8 119.1 118.3 111.4
1998 119.4 110.8 115.8 NA NA 116.0 NA 113.9 127.6 124.8 118.3 126.4 121.5 117.8
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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
- 24 -
Table 8. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 8.7 6.3 NA NA NA NA 2.2 2.4 1.3 1.7 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 14.9 13.0 1.5 NA NA 3.5 4.0 4.6 3.0 3.1 3.0 4.1 4.7 4.9
1961 15.3 12.7 1.8 NA NA 3.7 4.5 5.1 3.5 3.5 3.5 4.5 5.1 5.2
1962 15.9 12.5 2.0 NA NA 4.0 4.9 5.6 4.0 4.1 3.8 4.9 5.7 5.5
1963 16.4 13.0 2.3 NA NA 4.4 5.4 6.1 4.3 4.8 4.2 5.3 6.3 5.7
1964 17.0 13.5 2.5 NA NA 5.0 5.8 6.6 4.7 5.1 4.8 5.6 6.9 6.1
1965 17.4 14.3 2.8 NA NA 5.5 6.4 7.2 5.1 5.5 5.4 6.2 7.6 6.6
1966 18.2 15.4 3.1 NA NA 6.1 7.3 7.6 5.5 5.9 6.1 6.8 8.3 7.2
1967 19.2 16.2 3.5 NA NA 6.7 8.1 8.2 5.9 6.5 6.7 7.6 9.2 7.3
1968 20.7 17.3 4.1 NA NA 7.1 8.3 9.2 6.3 6.9 7.5 8.4 10.0 6.8
1969 22.2 18.6 4.9 NA NA 7.7 9.3 9.4 7.0 7.5 8.5 9.2 10.8 7.4
1970 23.7 20.6 5.8 NA NA 8.9 10.7 9.9 8.9 9.2 9.8 10.3 12.1 8.6
1971 25.2 22.5 6.9 NA NA 10.5 12.4 11.1 10.4 10.7 11.6 11.9 13.8 10.0
1972 26.5 24.6 9.2 NA NA 13.7 14.7 13.4 12.6 12.7 14.5 14.2 16.6 11.8
1973 28.5 26.4 12.5 NA NA 18.5 20.5 17.5 17.1 15.0 20.0 18.4 20.3 13.2
1974 31.6 31.4 15.3 NA NA 22.6 24.6 19.2 19.9 17.6 24.7 22.4 23.5 15.1
1975 35.5 34.6 17.5 NA NA 29.0 31.1 26.3 23.1 22.1 30.1 28.4 30.8 19.0
1976 38.4 40.8 18.8 NA NA 31.9 32.9 27.0 24.3 21.6 32.0 31.3 34.2 17.9
1977 41.8 42.0 23.0 NA NA 37.1 36.7 29.8 28.8 24.0 37.6 36.0 36.5 19.6
1978 45.2 42.1 31.5 NA NA 45.4 44.1 36.7 35.8 28.8 46.2 40.4 40.2 25.1
1979 49.6 44.5 32.0 NA NA 51.7 51.6 44.0 42.0 35.6 53.5 43.9 45.7 33.0
1980 55.6 49.2 32.8 NA NA 57.7 53.2 51.1 46.1 40.5 57.0 49.0 51.5 43.7
1981 61.1 53.7 36.1 NA NA 49.5 46.2 46.0 39.3 36.9 47.4 46.9 47.5 44.1
1982 67.0 58.6 33.5 NA NA 42.1 43.0 45.1 38.8 36.5 47.1 46.4 41.1 42.0
1983 68.8 62.5 36.1 NA NA 41.3 42.0 43.0 38.6 38.1 46.1 45.0 37.1 39.0
1984 71.2 61.7 37.2 NA NA 39.7 39.2 40.7 36.3 37.8 42.6 44.1 37.3 37.2
1985 75.1 61.8 38.5 NA NA 40.8 40.9 42.9 37.2 39.1 43.3 45.8 39.5 39.0
1986 78.5 63.0 57.3 NA NA 55.6 54.6 57.9 52.4 52.1 61.1 58.1 51.6 47.8
1987 80.7 68.6 68.3 NA NA 68.6 70.6 69.2 66.0 63.3 76.2 72.3 61.8 60.2
1988 84.0 76.4 78.4 NA NA 70.9 74.3 72.5 70.4 65.5 78.0 79.3 68.1 68.3
1989 86.6 84.1 77.3 NA NA 70.1 72.3 71.4 69.1 68.1 73.4 78.4 71.6 67.7
1990 90.8 92.7 79.3 NA NA 86.6 90.4 88.0 86.4 86.8 87.7 91.7 86.2 81.7
1991 95.6 99.9 90.3 NA NA 91.5 90.5 90.2 89.4 92.9 89.4 93.3 91.8 90.5
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 102.7 93.3 119.3 NA NA 97.4 97.4 96.0 100.0 84.2 98.1 88.8 73.3 88.7
1994 105.6 88.8 132.4 NA NA 102.1 NA 100.2 107.6 82.4 104.6 92.0 76.3 92.3
1995 107.9 91.2 147.7 NA NA 119.1 NA 114.3 128.3 85.3 121.2 107.1 86.6 95.9
1996 109.3 91.1 129.3 NA NA 116.3 NA 113.3 128.4 96.5 118.0 109.3 98.5 95.6
1997 113.4 93.1 119.3 NA NA 103.4 NA 101.8 114.0 91.1 104.3 104.5 90.1 103.3
1998 119.4 90.3 112.1 NA NA 102.7 NA 102.2 113.3 88.5 104.9 104.0 89.0 110.5
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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
- 25 -
Table 9. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
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 NA 25.5 30.9 NA NA 30.1 15.4 19.5 27.8 8.0 34.4 12.9 14.9 9.8
1961 NA 24.9 31.8 NA NA 31.5 16.3 20.3 29.7 8.2 37.1 13.6 15.6 10.5
1962 NA 23.9 34.6 NA NA 32.1 17.0 21.0 31.5 8.8 38.2 15.0 16.1 10.8
1963 NA 24.0 35.7 NA NA 34.2 17.9 21.7 32.2 10.1 40.4 15.2 16.8 10.7
1964 NA 23.9 35.4 NA NA 36.3 17.9 21.9 32.1 10.7 42.9 15.4 16.9 10.7
1965 NA 24.1 38.3 NA NA 38.3 18.9 22.2 33.3 10.3 45.1 16.0 17.3 11.4
1966 NA 25.5 38.5 NA NA 39.6 20.5 21.7 34.7 10.1 47.3 16.8 18.2 11.9
1967 NA 26.6 38.1 NA NA 40.9 21.4 22.0 34.5 10.6 48.8 18.1 18.6 11.7
1968 NA 26.7 39.6 NA NA 40.3 21.6 22.6 34.3 10.5 48.4 18.8 18.5 11.7
1969 NA 27.4 41.0 NA NA 40.4 23.4 22.6 35.0 11.1 50.0 19.0 18.7 12.5
1970 NA 30.0 43.3 9.0 22.3 41.7 25.2 24.0 39.8 12.7 52.9 20.4 20.5 14.1
1971 NA 30.0 47.3 9.6 23.4 45.2 27.1 25.4 42.9 14.4 57.1 22.5 22.0 15.4
1972 NA 30.7 49.6 10.6 23.7 47.9 27.8 26.8 44.7 14.9 60.8 23.7 23.4 16.8
1973 NA 31.4 55.7 12.6 27.5 51.2 30.6 28.7 47.5 16.1 65.3 25.1 24.4 17.9
1974 NA 35.8 71.1 15.4 41.5 59.9 35.9 33.4 52.1 19.8 72.7 28.2 27.5 21.1
1975 NA 42.7 80.6 18.0 42.1 69.5 38.9 39.4 55.2 25.9 84.3 34.2 33.3 28.7
1976 NA 45.6 81.9 22.4 43.6 73.1 41.8 42.6 55.4 28.3 84.8 38.3 38.3 31.9
1977 59.2 47.9 86.8 26.1 45.4 75.3 45.4 45.7 58.8 32.8 85.5 43.2 42.6 35.7
1978 63.5 50.6 89.1 31.0 45.8 76.1 49.3 49.3 61.1 35.4 86.8 46.8 46.2 41.1
1979 68.8 55.1 87.5 37.7 52.0 76.8 52.5 53.3 62.9 39.2 89.0 45.8 46.2 48.5
1980 77.2 63.3 91.7 47.9 60.1 80.3 55.0 61.2 69.4 44.0 93.0 50.8 50.6 59.1
1981 80.9 69.1 95.1 55.1 69.8 81.7 59.5 68.9 72.4 51.9 95.1 56.6 56.1 65.3
1982 86.1 79.5 95.8 58.2 74.5 81.5 64.6 76.5 76.7 60.1 99.2 60.5 57.8 68.1
1983 84.5 79.9 97.2 61.8 73.0 81.1 65.8 82.5 76.4 66.8 96.2 64.2 59.7 67.8
1984 84.1 76.3 96.8 66.6 76.2 84.0 69.9 88.2 77.3 69.8 90.9 66.3 61.9 69.4
1985 85.5 77.8 93.8 64.1 79.3 86.5 74.2 92.0 78.6 74.2 91.8 70.2 67.1 73.5
1986 88.8 81.2 99.0 63.5 82.3 88.0 80.4 94.3 81.2 76.3 93.7 77.7 71.3 76.9
1987 85.5 82.5 96.0 67.6 82.1 89.7 88.4 96.2 86.3 78.3 95.9 84.1 74.7 81.6
1988 85.7 85.5 93.4 75.7 84.2 88.1 88.2 93.4 86.5 79.9 93.6 90.4 79.0 82.2
1989 89.2 89.2 94.0 80.8 87.9 88.7 88.1 93.6 87.9 84.9 91.1 92.2 84.7 84.6
1990 92.8 93.9 95.0 85.9 94.3 93.0 93.6 96.8 90.3 91.3 92.1 95.6 92.3 91.6
1991 97.2 99.6 96.5 95.0 95.6 98.1 96.3 99.3 93.3 98.4 95.5 100.0 100.4 98.2
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.6 97.2 104.1 103.8 100.9 102.3 100.1 102.2 105.3 104.4 102.3 100.9 91.8 100.3
1994 97.6 94.5 104.9 108.2 102.0 97.9 93.0 96.8 103.6 102.1 96.0 102.9 87.0 99.7
1995 93.9 95.2 100.1 120.4 102.1 96.4 93.8 94.1 105.9 103.2 94.0 107.1 86.8 102.5
1996 93.2 95.8 95.8 126.5 101.8 97.6 92.7 95.3 107.5 109.6 94.6 111.4 90.4 104.8
1997 92.9 96.2 93.8 116.1 100.3 94.6 95.9 91.2 103.9 111.1 92.2 116.9 88.5 107.1
1998 93.4 99.2 96.2 107.1 99.1 94.7 94.0 89.4 100.4 109.8 92.5 121.4 89.0 112.1
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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
- 26 -
Table 10. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
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 NA 31.8 10.9 NA NA 19.4 13.5 21.1 10.4 16.0 16.0 11.3 16.8 15.6
1961 NA 29.7 11.2 NA NA 20.3 14.3 21.9 11.6 16.4 18.0 11.9 17.6 16.7
1962 NA 27.1 12.1 NA NA 20.7 14.9 22.7 12.3 17.4 18.7 13.0 18.2 17.1
1963 NA 26.9 12.5 NA NA 22.0 15.7 23.5 12.6 20.1 19.8 13.2 18.9 17.0
1964 NA 26.8 12.4 NA NA 23.5 15.6 23.7 12.6 21.1 20.9 13.3 19.1 16.9
1965 NA 27.1 13.4 NA NA 24.8 16.5 24.0 13.0 20.3 22.0 13.9 19.6 18.0
1966 NA 28.6 13.5 NA NA 25.6 17.9 23.4 13.6 19.9 23.0 14.6 20.5 18.9
1967 NA 29.8 13.3 NA NA 26.5 18.5 23.7 13.5 20.9 23.8 15.7 21.0 18.3
1968 NA 30.0 13.9 NA NA 25.9 17.4 24.2 13.4 20.7 23.5 16.4 20.9 15.9
1969 NA 30.8 14.5 NA NA 25.9 18.8 23.1 13.9 21.8 24.3 16.5 21.0 16.9
1970 NA 34.7 15.3 22.8 14.0 27.0 20.3 23.0 17.1 24.9 25.7 17.8 23.0 19.2
1971 NA 35.9 17.3 21.6 14.7 29.9 22.1 24.4 19.3 28.7 28.8 19.9 25.1 21.3
1972 NA 37.5 20.8 21.2 14.9 35.0 24.1 28.2 21.9 31.4 33.3 22.3 28.7 23.8
1973 NA 38.0 26.1 24.8 18.1 42.4 30.7 34.3 28.0 34.2 41.3 27.2 32.7 24.8
1974 NA 44.3 30.9 29.8 27.5 49.5 35.6 36.8 31.5 37.6 47.6 31.7 36.2 28.0
1975 NA 50.8 34.5 29.2 27.9 60.9 40.9 48.7 35.1 48.9 58.7 40.7 46.8 36.1
1976 NA 55.9 35.0 36.3 28.9 60.9 41.8 47.2 34.4 41.9 56.5 43.6 51.3 32.6
1977 59.2 54.5 41.1 42.3 30.1 67.6 45.7 49.2 39.6 45.8 61.3 50.4 55.5 35.3
1978 63.5 53.7 54.2 50.3 31.1 77.8 54.1 58.0 47.6 51.4 70.7 55.5 59.5 44.6
1979 68.8 56.8 50.9 61.2 36.3 84.2 60.3 66.4 53.6 58.1 78.0 56.2 62.8 58.2
1980 77.2 65.4 51.3 61.9 42.0 88.3 58.9 76.7 59.6 63.3 82.3 63.9 69.6 77.8
1981 80.9 69.6 54.6 63.5 47.6 70.6 50.4 67.0 49.9 56.2 66.9 61.3 64.6 74.8
1982 86.1 77.8 48.8 62.4 47.9 57.2 46.7 61.5 49.3 54.7 65.3 58.2 53.6 67.4
1983 84.5 78.3 51.8 62.5 45.9 51.0 43.4 57.3 46.7 54.2 59.3 54.7 45.3 58.2
1984 84.1 71.2 51.7 64.7 48.4 46.8 40.8 53.5 42.4 49.0 49.8 50.5 43.6 52.5
1985 85.5 68.9 49.9 58.4 50.0 46.9 42.3 54.2 41.7 47.9 48.7 50.8 45.4 54.0
1986 88.8 70.6 74.5 56.4 54.7 63.4 60.0 72.1 58.5 63.0 67.3 65.3 58.3 63.9
1987 85.5 75.2 84.2 64.3 65.0 77.2 77.9 84.7 74.9 74.4 83.2 77.5 68.5 75.7
1988 85.7 83.9 92.4 80.9 74.0 77.0 79.0 82.9 76.9 75.6 83.2 86.1 75.0 82.9
1989 89.2 91.0 86.3 94.0 83.8 72.3 72.6 77.7 73.0 76.2 75.5 82.9 76.4 78.5
1990 92.8 97.2 83.1 94.9 88.2 89.5 91.3 94.1 87.3 93.8 88.9 95.0 90.8 92.5
1991 97.2 105.0 90.9 101.1 89.9 92.3 90.8 93.1 87.8 97.6 89.8 95.7 96.6 98.2
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.6 91.1 118.8 101.1 96.1 95.1 93.2 95.5 99.4 81.8 96.8 88.3 68.6 85.3
1994 97.6 83.6 130.1 105.2 97.0 94.2 88.3 92.4 99.8 78.1 92.8 90.7 65.7 86.5
1995 93.9 83.8 135.1 122.3 96.9 105.2 101.1 99.9 115.5 78.0 103.0 105.0 70.8 91.6
1996 93.2 84.9 111.7 123.3 93.3 101.4 96.5 98.6 111.6 87.5 98.6 107.1 78.5 92.6
1997 92.9 83.9 98.3 95.8 87.7 84.9 87.6 82.6 93.5 80.3 83.0 102.5 67.5 99.3
1998 93.4 80.8 93.1 60.0 74.3 83.8 84.7 80.2 89.1 77.9 82.0 99.9 65.2 105.2
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. Exchange rates, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998 (Value of foreign currency relative to U.S. dollar)
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 100.0 110.5 35.2 NA NA NA 87.5 151.3 37.2 197.3 46.2 87.1 112.6 158.6
1955 100.0 122.5 35.2 NA NA NA 87.4 151.2 37.1 197.1 46.1 87.0 112.6 158.0
1960 100.0 124.6 35.2 NA NA 64.5 87.6 107.9 37.4 198.4 46.6 87.1 112.7 159.0
1961 100.0 119.4 35.1 NA NA 64.5 87.4 107.9 38.9 198.4 48.5 87.0 112.7 158.6
1962 100.0 113.1 35.1 NA NA 64.6 87.5 108.0 39.1 198.5 48.8 87.1 113.0 159.0
1963 100.0 112.0 35.1 NA NA 64.5 87.4 108.0 39.2 198.2 48.8 86.9 112.3 158.5
1964 100.0 112.0 35.0 NA NA 64.6 87.3 108.0 39.3 197.3 48.8 86.8 113.1 158.1
1965 100.0 112.1 35.1 NA NA 64.8 87.3 108.0 39.1 197.2 48.8 86.9 112.9 158.3
1966 100.0 112.2 35.0 NA NA 64.5 87.4 107.7 39.1 197.3 48.6 86.9 112.8 158.1
1967 100.0 112.0 35.0 NA NA 64.7 86.5 107.6 39.2 197.4 48.8 86.9 112.9 155.7
1968 100.0 112.2 35.2 NA NA 64.4 80.7 106.9 39.1 197.7 48.6 87.0 112.7 135.5
1969 100.0 112.2 35.4 NA NA 64.1 80.3 102.2 39.8 196.4 48.5 87.0 112.7 135.3
1970 100.0 115.8 35.4 252.7 62.9 64.7 80.5 95.7 42.8 196.5 48.6 86.9 112.3 135.6
1971 100.0 119.7 36.5 226.0 62.9 66.2 81.6 96.1 44.9 199.3 50.4 88.3 114.1 138.4
1972 100.0 122.0 41.8 199.7 62.9 73.0 86.8 104.9 49.0 211.1 54.8 94.3 122.5 141.6
1973 100.0 120.8 46.8 197.0 65.8 82.8 100.2 119.3 59.0 211.8 63.3 108.2 133.8 138.8
1974 100.0 123.6 43.5 194.0 66.2 82.7 99.3 110.1 60.5 189.4 65.5 112.6 131.4 132.5
1975 100.0 118.8 42.7 162.1 66.2 87.6 105.3 123.6 63.6 188.9 69.7 119.2 140.6 125.8
1976 100.0 122.6 42.8 162.1 66.2 83.3 99.9 110.9 62.1 148.4 66.6 113.9 133.7 102.2
1977 100.0 113.7 47.3 162.1 66.2 89.7 100.6 107.7 67.3 139.6 71.7 116.8 130.4 98.8
1978 100.0 106.0 60.8 162.1 67.9 102.3 109.6 117.6 77.9 145.2 81.4 118.6 129.0 108.6
1979 100.0 103.2 58.1 162.1 69.8 109.6 114.8 124.4 85.2 148.3 87.7 122.7 135.9 120.2
1980 100.0 103.4 55.9 129.2 69.8 110.0 107.1 125.3 85.9 143.9 88.5 125.8 137.7 131.7
1981 100.0 100.8 57.5 115.2 68.3 86.4 84.6 97.3 69.0 108.2 70.4 108.2 115.0 114.6
1982 100.0 97.9 50.9 107.2 64.3 70.2 72.4 80.5 64.3 91.0 65.8 96.2 92.7 99.0
1983 100.0 98.1 53.4 101.1 62.8 62.9 66.0 69.5 61.2 81.1 61.6 85.1 75.9 85.8
1984 100.0 93.3 53.4 97.1 63.5 55.7 58.3 60.6 54.9 70.2 54.8 76.2 70.4 75.7
1985 100.0 88.5 53.2 91.0 63.1 54.2 57.0 58.9 53.1 64.5 53.0 72.3 67.7 73.5
1986 100.0 87.0 75.3 88.7 66.5 72.0 74.6 76.4 72.0 82.6 71.8 84.0 81.7 83.1
1987 100.0 91.1 87.7 95.0 79.2 86.1 88.2 88.0 86.9 95.0 86.8 92.2 91.8 92.8
1988 100.0 98.2 98.9 106.8 87.9 87.4 89.6 88.8 88.9 94.6 88.9 95.2 94.9 100.8
1989 100.0 102.1 91.8 116.4 95.3 81.6 82.5 83.0 83.0 89.8 82.9 89.9 90.2 92.7
1990 100.0 103.6 87.4 110.4 93.5 96.2 97.5 97.2 96.6 102.8 96.6 99.4 98.4 101.0
1991 100.0 105.5 94.2 106.5 94.0 94.0 94.3 93.7 94.0 99.3 93.9 95.7 96.3 100.1
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.0 93.7 114.1 97.4 95.2 93.0 93.1 93.4 94.4 78.3 94.6 87.5 74.7 85.0
1994 100.0 88.4 124.1 97.2 95.1 96.2 95.0 95.4 96.3 76.5 96.7 88.1 75.5 86.7
1995 100.0 88.1 134.9 101.5 95.0 109.1 107.8 106.2 109.1 75.6 109.6 98.1 81.6 89.4
1996 100.0 88.6 116.5 97.5 91.6 103.8 104.1 103.5 103.8 79.9 104.3 96.2 86.8 88.4
1997 100.0 87.3 104.7 82.5 87.4 89.8 91.3 90.7 90.0 72.3 90.1 87.7 76.2 92.7
1998 100.0 81.5 96.8 56.0 75.0 88.5 90.1 89.7 88.8 70.9 88.7 82.3 73.3 93.8
NA: Not Available
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
- 28 -
Table 12. Average annual compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
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 14.8 10.7 5.3 NA NA 6.8 6.0 5.2 10.7 1.8 8.4 6.0 5.0 3.5
1961 15.2 10.9 6.1 NA NA 7.2 6.6 5.7 11.8 2.0 9.2 6.4 5.5 3.7
1962 16.0 11.4 6.8 NA NA 7.8 7.2 6.3 13.0 2.3 9.8 7.0 6.1 3.9
1963 16.5 11.9 7.6 NA NA 8.6 7.8 6.9 13.7 2.7 10.7 7.5 6.6 4.0
1964 17.3 12.5 8.5 NA NA 9.6 8.5 7.5 14.8 2.9 12.3 8.0 7.1 4.4
1965 17.9 13.3 9.4 NA NA 10.5 9.4 8.0 16.2 3.0 13.8 8.7 7.8 4.7
1966 18.8 14.1 10.4 NA NA 11.5 10.4 8.5 17.4 3.2 15.3 9.5 8.6 5.0
1967 19.4 14.9 11.7 NA NA 12.4 11.6 9.1 17.8 3.6 16.9 10.5 9.3 5.1
1968 20.9 15.8 13.5 NA NA 13.3 12.5 10.0 19.4 3.8 18.5 11.3 9.9 5.5
1969 22.2 17.0 15.8 NA NA 14.4 13.8 10.9 21.3 4.2 20.7 12.2 10.6 6.0
1970 23.3 18.1 18.6 NA NA 16.0 15.3 12.1 24.8 5.0 23.5 13.4 11.9 6.8
1971 24.8 19.1 21.2 NA NA 18.2 17.5 13.5 27.2 5.6 26.6 15.2 13.3 7.6
1972 26.5 20.5 24.3 NA NA 21.0 19.0 14.7 29.8 6.2 30.1 16.7 14.5 8.7
1973 28.5 22.1 29.4 NA NA 24.3 21.8 16.6 33.4 7.4 35.2 18.7 15.9 10.0
1974 31.0 25.4 37.0 NA NA 29.2 26.9 19.5 37.2 9.3 40.7 21.7 18.5 11.7
1975 34.3 28.8 42.1 NA NA 33.3 31.1 23.1 40.0 11.5 45.7 25.8 22.3 15.5
1976 37.6 33.0 46.7 NA NA 39.3 34.8 26.5 44.3 14.3 50.9 29.1 25.8 18.1
1977 41.0 36.6 51.6 NA NA 42.3 38.2 29.9 47.7 16.9 55.3 32.1 27.9 20.6
1978 44.3 39.5 55.2 NA NA 45.2 41.6 33.4 50.6 19.4 59.2 34.6 30.3 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 53.5 46.8 62.9 NA NA 52.7 51.6 43.5 57.9 27.4 66.7 39.1 35.4 33.0
1981 58.8 52.4 66.8 NA NA 56.1 56.1 49.8 60.9 33.1 70.2 43.6 39.3 37.8
1982 63.3 58.5 69.9 NA NA 60.0 62.0 56.7 64.1 39.0 75.3 48.1 42.4 42.0
1983 66.9 63.2 71.9 NA NA 64.2 67.2 62.3 67.2 45.6 78.9 53.0 47.3 45.2
1984 70.2 65.5 74.8 NA NA 69.3 70.8 67.7 70.3 52.3 80.7 57.9 52.3 49.2
1985 74.1 69.4 77.6 NA NA 74.1 73.0 72.9 73.1 58.3 82.9 63.1 57.2 53.7
1986 77.4 72.2 81.1 NA NA 76.2 76.3 76.1 75.6 62.2 85.7 68.9 61.5 58.3
1987 80.0 75.5 83.3 NA NA 79.2 81.5 79.4 78.8 67.0 88.1 76.3 66.4 65.3
1988 84.0 79.5 85.6 NA NA 81.9 84.4 82.7 81.7 72.0 88.6 81.7 70.6 69.9
1989 86.7 83.4 89.9 NA NA 86.4 88.2 86.9 84.6 78.7 89.0 86.0 77.9 74.5
1990 90.2 89.8 95.5 NA NA 91.7 92.1 91.1 89.2 85.4 91.2 90.9 87.0 82.5
1991 94.3 94.6 98.9 NA NA 97.3 95.6 95.7 94.3 93.7 95.4 96.4 94.6 91.3
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 104.1 101.0 102.1 NA NA 103.2 103.8 102.7 102.8 105.4 103.7 101.8 100.5 104.1
1994 108.0 102.4 104.3 NA NA 107.4 106.0 105.0 108.5 108.6 108.2 105.0 106.8 107.8
1995 109.5 105.1 107.7 NA NA 109.2 109.7 107.1 113.6 113.7 110.9 108.8 114.3 109.7
1996 111.0 105.7 110.1 NA NA 112.6 111.7 109.1 117.6 120.9 113.4 112.6 122.5 110.7
1997 115.9 109.9 112.3 NA NA 115.8 116.1 111.7 120.5 126.4 115.6 117.5 127.9 114.1
1998 121.5 113.5 111.8 NA NA 116.9 117.0 113.6 122.8 125.0 117.8 124.8 131.3 120.3
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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
- 29 -
Table 13. Real hourly compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 46.9 38.7 NA NA NA NA 28.6 19.8 11.7 18.4 17.1 26.3 25.2 26.6
1955 56.7 48.7 18.2 NA NA NA 31.9 26.7 15.9 21.4 21.2 29.4 30.5 29.1
1960 65.4 57.1 23.2 NA NA 24.5 38.7 30.1 23.6 24.5 26.4 36.3 35.3 34.1
1961 66.6 58.1 25.6 NA NA 25.7 41.7 32.2 25.8 26.4 29.8 38.7 37.9 35.2
1962 68.5 59.6 27.4 NA NA 27.2 42.5 34.0 28.4 29.6 31.0 40.3 40.3 35.5
1963 69.6 61.2 28.4 NA NA 29.4 43.9 35.4 29.4 32.6 33.1 42.0 43.3 36.4
1964 71.6 62.7 30.8 NA NA 31.9 45.7 37.2 31.1 32.8 36.2 42.5 45.7 37.6
1965 72.0 64.8 32.2 NA NA 34.0 47.7 39.3 33.1 33.7 39.0 45.0 48.0 39.2
1966 73.2 67.1 33.8 NA NA 36.1 50.8 40.6 34.7 35.1 41.4 47.6 49.4 40.8
1967 74.9 68.2 36.4 NA NA 38.3 53.0 42.5 36.1 37.9 44.3 50.9 52.5 41.8
1968 77.3 69.8 40.2 NA NA 39.9 54.0 46.3 38.3 40.0 47.5 54.2 56.0 42.9
1969 78.7 72.1 45.3 NA NA 42.1 58.7 47.5 41.0 42.7 50.2 58.0 58.8 44.2
1970 79.7 74.6 50.0 NA NA 46.1 62.9 51.1 46.7 49.5 55.6 58.3 61.7 47.8
1971 81.0 77.0 54.4 NA NA 51.1 68.3 54.1 49.8 54.3 59.1 62.8 64.0 49.7
1972 82.5 78.6 59.7 NA NA 57.3 71.0 56.2 52.3 57.6 62.9 65.3 67.4 53.5
1973 83.6 79.3 65.4 NA NA 63.6 78.8 60.0 55.4 61.4 69.4 68.5 69.7 55.8
1974 83.6 83.0 69.5 NA NA 69.4 82.7 62.7 58.9 67.2 75.6 73.4 74.7 57.8
1975 85.8 85.9 72.5 NA NA 74.3 90.0 68.4 61.3 72.4 78.5 78.6 83.5 62.0
1976 88.0 91.1 71.4 NA NA 78.9 92.1 71.5 63.1 77.1 80.5 83.2 88.3 61.7
1977 89.8 93.6 72.8 NA NA 79.5 91.8 74.2 66.7 76.5 82.3 85.6 86.0 60.1
1978 90.8 92.2 74.5 NA NA 81.6 91.9 76.5 69.9 78.4 85.6 87.4 88.8 64.4
1979 91.1 91.9 76.4 NA NA 83.1 93.7 78.4 72.2 82.0 88.2 87.6 89.8 67.4
1980 91.8 92.1 75.4 NA NA 86.6 92.0 79.5 74.6 79.4 87.4 86.0 87.5 69.0
1981 92.2 91.3 77.0 NA NA 87.8 90.7 81.2 74.6 80.9 85.7 84.1 86.2 72.0
1982 95.5 92.5 78.6 NA NA 84.5 89.7 86.2 75.0 82.0 85.8 84.1 85.0 72.4
1983 94.2 93.1 79.2 NA NA 86.1 89.7 86.9 76.0 83.4 87.4 85.1 84.3 74.4
1984 93.7 92.5 79.8 NA NA 88.0 89.2 87.7 77.7 86.6 87.8 87.7 85.0 76.3
1985 95.5 94.0 81.4 NA NA 88.5 90.9 89.6 80.7 89.6 90.4 90.8 87.2 77.8
1986 98.1 93.7 85.0 NA NA 89.7 89.5 90.9 84.1 87.9 93.9 92.4 90.3 81.5
1987 97.5 93.2 86.9 NA NA 91.0 94.1 91.5 87.7 88.8 97.4 96.4 92.3 88.1
1988 97.9 92.6 87.8 NA NA 91.5 93.2 92.6 90.3 87.9 96.6 96.0 94.0 87.7
1989 96.8 93.4 91.1 NA NA 94.1 94.1 94.1 92.3 90.3 96.3 96.1 98.1 87.7
1990 96.6 95.9 95.3 NA NA 95.4 96.9 96.0 96.6 94.6 96.5 97.7 97.4 88.9
1991 98.0 96.1 97.6 NA NA 99.7 98.0 98.8 99.1 98.7 98.1 99.8 97.2 93.9
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.2 97.9 103.2 NA NA 102.0 103.3 100.7 102.1 103.2 101.1 99.2 95.3 102.7
1994 100.8 98.4 104.7 NA NA 100.9 NA 101.2 104.8 99.6 102.7 100.7 96.2 102.3
1995 100.2 99.4 107.4 NA NA 102.3 NA 102.0 108.7 98.9 103.1 102.7 96.8 99.7
1996 98.9 97.1 108.8 NA NA 102.8 NA 101.7 112.8 102.0 103.6 105.6 102.7 98.1
1997 100.4 99.2 109.7 NA NA 104.1 NA 103.1 113.3 104.4 103.7 107.9 105.8 98.0
1998 104.3 102.2 110.9 NA NA 103.8 NA 103.8 113.3 101.6 104.0 112.0 107.5 100.2
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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
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Table 14. Real average annual compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 47.5 41.6 NA NA NA NA 40.2 24.3 17.2 20.2 22.3 34.4 32.8 30.9
1955 57.6 50.3 21.6 NA NA NA 44.0 32.5 23.3 24.1 27.7 38.6 39.3 34.2
1960 65.1 58.7 28.6 NA NA 30.8 50.7 36.6 31.0 28.0 34.8 45.8 43.1 39.3
1961 66.4 59.4 31.1 NA NA 32.2 53.1 39.4 33.4 29.8 37.6 48.0 45.8 40.1
1962 68.9 61.4 32.6 NA NA 34.2 54.5 41.5 35.8 32.4 39.0 49.9 48.4 39.9
1963 70.3 63.2 33.6 NA NA 37.0 55.4 43.1 36.5 35.9 41.4 51.7 51.5 40.9
1964 72.8 65.0 36.2 NA NA 40.0 58.3 45.0 38.7 36.1 44.9 52.6 53.7 42.6
1965 73.9 67.3 37.2 NA NA 41.9 60.6 47.2 41.0 35.8 48.2 54.5 56.0 43.9
1966 75.4 69.1 39.2 NA NA 44.1 63.4 48.9 42.4 37.8 50.8 57.8 57.5 44.9
1967 75.7 70.3 42.3 NA NA 46.2 65.4 50.7 42.9 41.4 54.2 61.2 60.2 45.6
1968 78.1 71.8 46.6 NA NA 48.2 65.1 53.7 46.1 43.6 57.1 63.6 62.8 47.2
1969 78.9 73.9 51.8 NA NA 50.3 69.9 56.4 49.5 46.3 59.5 66.5 64.8 48.6
1970 78.2 75.9 56.6 NA NA 53.6 72.5 59.9 56.0 52.6 64.7 66.3 67.9 51.7
1971 79.7 78.1 60.6 NA NA 58.5 78.5 63.0 58.4 56.2 68.1 70.8 70.2 52.5
1972 82.5 79.8 66.1 NA NA 64.2 79.8 64.7 60.7 59.2 71.5 72.5 72.0 56.0
1973 83.5 79.9 71.9 NA NA 69.5 83.9 68.0 63.8 63.8 77.3 75.6 73.1 59.1
1974 81.9 83.1 73.2 NA NA 73.9 89.8 70.1 66.5 67.4 81.7 80.0 77.5 59.3
1975 82.9 84.9 74.7 NA NA 74.9 94.6 74.2 67.4 71.3 83.2 85.3 85.0 63.4
1976 86.0 90.2 75.7 NA NA 80.9 97.3 77.8 71.5 76.0 85.2 87.9 88.8 63.7
1977 88.1 92.6 77.3 NA NA 81.2 96.0 80.0 74.3 75.0 86.7 89.0 85.9 62.4
1978 89.0 91.8 79.4 NA NA 83.2 95.0 81.9 76.9 76.6 89.2 88.8 86.3 66.6
1979 88.8 91.2 82.0 NA NA 84.7 96.8 83.6 79.2 79.6 90.9 87.5 86.0 69.4
1980 88.5 90.5 80.9 NA NA 87.0 95.7 84.9 80.7 77.3 90.6 86.3 83.0 68.7
1981 88.9 89.7 82.0 NA NA 86.1 93.2 85.6 79.7 78.7 89.3 84.6 82.1 70.6
1982 90.3 90.3 83.5 NA NA 84.7 93.5 87.2 79.7 79.6 90.4 83.8 81.3 71.8
1983 91.5 92.2 84.3 NA NA 84.1 94.7 87.4 80.9 81.0 92.2 85.3 81.7 73.9
1984 92.4 91.7 85.7 NA NA 85.4 93.9 88.5 82.7 84.0 91.3 87.7 83.9 76.4
1985 94.3 93.4 87.2 NA NA 87.1 92.5 89.8 84.3 86.2 91.6 90.4 85.3 78.7
1986 96.7 93.3 90.5 NA NA 88.4 93.3 91.3 87.3 86.7 94.6 92.1 88.0 82.6
1987 96.7 93.4 92.8 NA NA 90.5 95.8 92.3 90.9 89.2 97.7 93.7 91.0 88.8
1988 97.9 94.6 94.8 NA NA 92.5 94.9 93.7 93.2 91.3 97.6 94.1 92.6 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 96.0 96.3 100.3 NA NA 97.0 96.3 96.5 96.4 95.8 96.9 96.2 96.7 90.6
1991 96.8 95.9 100.6 NA NA 99.7 97.6 98.2 98.2 98.8 98.3 98.7 96.4 94.7
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 NA NA 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 101.5 99.2 100.8 NA NA 100.5 102.5 100.6 99.1 101.1 101.1 99.5 97.8 102.5
1994 103.0 100.3 102.3 NA NA 102.1 102.6 101.2 101.7 100.3 102.7 101.2 101.7 103.6
1995 101.8 100.9 105.7 NA NA 102.3 104.0 101.5 104.9 99.7 103.5 102.4 104.1 101.9
1996 100.4 99.8 107.9 NA NA 103.3 103.7 101.3 107.2 102.0 103.8 104.6 111.0 100.4
1997 102.6 102.2 108.2 NA NA 104.6 105.5 102.5 107.9 104.8 103.5 106.5 114.4 100.3
1998 106.1 104.6 107.0 NA NA 104.6 104.4 103.5 109.0 101.9 103.6 110.5 116.2 102.2
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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
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Table 15. Labor compensation in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-1998
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* W.Germany Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
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 13.7 8.7 3.3 NA NA 9.2 6.3 6.0 11.6 1.7 10.9 7.3 6.9 6.7
1961 13.7 8.9 4.1 NA NA 10.1 7.0 6.7 13.1 1.9 12.2 8.0 7.7 7.1
1962 14.8 9.5 4.8 NA NA 11.1 7.9 7.5 14.5 2.3 13.2 8.9 8.6 7.3
1963 15.4 10.2 5.5 NA NA 12.4 8.5 8.4 15.2 2.8 14.5 9.5 9.4 7.5
1964 16.4 11.1 6.4 NA NA 14.3 9.5 9.2 16.4 3.0 16.9 10.3 10.3 8.2
1965 17.8 12.3 7.1 NA NA 15.6 10.7 9.8 18.3 3.0 19.0 11.4 11.3 9.0
1966 19.8 13.9 8.1 NA NA 17.1 11.8 10.5 19.4 3.3 21.0 12.6 12.2 9.6
1967 20.7 14.8 9.7 NA NA 17.9 12.5 11.1 18.9 3.8 22.5 14.0 12.9 9.5
1968 22.6 15.8 11.6 NA NA 18.8 13.5 12.0 20.7 4.1 24.4 14.9 13.5 10.2
1969 24.6 17.3 14.0 NA NA 21.1 15.4 13.5 23.6 4.6 27.7 16.2 14.7 11.3
1970 24.8 18.1 16.8 .6 3.0 24.0 17.1 15.4 28.2 5.7 31.5 18.2 16.7 12.8
1971 25.3 19.3 19.2 .7 3.8 27.2 18.8 17.3 30.7 6.5 35.2 20.8 18.1 13.7
1972 27.8 21.4 22.0 .9 4.6 31.0 20.9 19.1 33.0 7.1 38.4 22.9 19.4 15.3
1973 31.5 24.1 27.8 1.4 6.3 36.1 24.3 22.0 37.3 8.7 44.2 25.7 21.6 17.8
1974 34.2 28.2 34.6 2.0 9.0 43.9 28.9 26.1 40.5 11.4 51.0 30.3 25.7 20.8
1975 34.5 31.2 37.2 2.6 9.5 47.2 30.6 30.2 40.9 14.0 55.3 35.9 31.1 26.3
1976 39.2 36.0 41.1 4.1 12.1 53.4 34.5 34.5 44.2 17.6 59.1 40.2 35.9 29.7
1977 44.4 39.1 44.9 5.5 14.2 55.2 37.7 38.7 47.8 21.1 62.5 44.5 37.6 34.0
1978 50.0 43.6 47.4 7.9 17.3 56.5 40.8 42.8 50.6 23.9 65.5 47.1 39.6 39.3
1979 55.9 49.3 50.7 10.6 21.2 58.6 45.9 47.6 54.8 29.2 68.8 48.0 42.2 46.2
1980 59.7 54.1 54.9 13.3 26.9 62.8 50.2 54.3 59.2 34.5 72.0 52.6 46.4 51.5
1981 65.3 60.4 59.0 16.8 33.6 63.1 52.6 60.1 61.0 39.9 73.8 57.6 49.9 53.4
1982 65.6 61.8 61.4 19.0 36.6 65.5 58.0 67.4 62.5 45.5 76.1 61.3 51.9 55.7
1983 68.1 65.3 64.2 23.2 40.0 68.6 63.1 72.7 63.2 51.0 76.1 64.1 56.7 56.5
1984 75.0 70.7 68.2 28.2 47.8 73.2 70.2 76.7 65.9 55.7 76.1 69.4 63.0 60.1
1985 78.5 75.9 71.3 29.9 51.4 77.1 76.8 80.4 69.4 61.1 79.0 76.2 69.7 65.4
1986 80.8 80.0 74.1 35.4 61.4 78.5 83.2 82.4 72.9 64.5 82.7 84.0 75.0 69.3
1987 83.8 85.1 75.3 45.1 69.2 79.7 87.7 83.9 76.0 69.1 85.8 93.0 80.4 77.0
1988 89.5 93.4 79.1 57.4 74.0 82.3 88.9 86.1 78.6 75.4 86.8 95.2 87.1 83.4
1989 92.8 98.9 84.8 63.9 80.2 87.9 91.8 91.0 82.6 83.3 88.3 93.4 94.5 89.2
1990 95.1 100.1 91.5 74.5 85.6 94.0 96.1 96.0 89.5 90.9 92.2 95.7 102.0 96.5
1991 96.0 98.4 97.9 90.2 92.6 98.8 98.0 99.1 96.0 97.5 96.1 98.3 104.0 98.2
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 104.2 102.2 100.0 109.4 103.4 99.2 99.1 97.8 96.6 100.6 100.5 103.6 93.1 101.7
1994 109.4 107.0 100.0 126.4 110.6 99.3 101.6 97.1 96.8 104.3 100.0 109.9 100.7 105.9
1995 112.2 113.1 100.7 156.5 117.2 100.4 107.6 98.6 99.2 110.6 101.3 116.6 112.9 110.4
1996 113.4 115.2 102.3 175.5 122.2 101.7 109.2 99.6 99.4 116.9 102.5 122.6 120.2 113.4
1997 119.6 123.1 104.2 171.6 128.3 103.0 115.3 100.5 99.5 122.6 105.1 132.4 124.2 117.4
1998 126.1 131.9 99.7 146.9 131.8 105.8 118.9 102.4 101.2 123.6 107.9 141.4 130.3 123.3
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: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2000.
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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 intra-
sector 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 trade-
weighted unit labor cost measures are produced:
Country Weight
Canada 23.94
Japan 28.91
Belgium 2.02
Denmark 0.45
France 5.58
W. Germany 10.98
Italy 4.35
Netherlands 2.13
Norway 0.45
Sweden 1.79
United Kingdom 8.50
Korea 5.43
Taiwan 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.