Full text of Revised Data for 2001 : Text File, USDL 03-89
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Internet address: http://www.bls.gov USDL 03-89
Technical information: (202) 691-5654 For Release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, February 26, 2003
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS OF MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY
AND UNIT LABOR COST TRENDS, REVISED DATA FOR 2001
In 2001, output per hour in manufacturing declined in Canada, Japan, and the
United States, according to revised data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
U.S. Department of Labor. Labor productivity was unchanged in Sweden, and it
grew in the remaining nine economies for which comparable data are available.
Korea and Taiwan recorded the largest productivity gains, while Canada and Japan
recorded the largest declines. In all, the manufacturing productivity estimates
were revised upward for five nations and downward for three and were unchanged
for four. Data for the Netherlands for 2001 were reported for the first time.
PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT
Chart 1. Percent change in manufacturing output per hour, 2001
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Unit labor costs in manufacturing, expressed in national currency units,
increased in 12 of the 14 economies for which comparable data on unit labor
costs are available for 2001. The largest increases occurred in Canada (5.5
percent) and Korea (5.2 percent). Unit labor costs increased 2.0 percent in
U.S. manufacturing. Taiwan and Denmark were the only two economies where unit
labor costs expressed in national currency units declined in 2001. (See table A
and chart 2.)
Changes in exchange rates must be taken into account in order to assess
international competitiveness in manufacturing. Unlike unit labor costs in
national currency units, unit labor costs expressed in U.S. dollars declined in
9 of the 14 countries due to the relative strength of the U.S. dollar in 2001
against all the other currencies. The largest declines occurred in Taiwan (11.2
percent) and Japan (9.2 percent). (See table A and chart 2.)
PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT
Chart 2. Percent change in manufacturing unit labor costs, 2000-2001
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Table A. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures
Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 2000-2001
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 - 0.4 - 6.0 - 5.6 - 4.1 - 1.6 - 4.2 1.5 2.0 2.0 ---
Canada - 2.0 - 3.3 - 1.4 - 0.4 - 1.0 2.1 3.5 5.5 1.2 - 4.1
Japan - 1.6 - 4.9 - 3.4 - 2.6 - 0.8 - 2.6 0.7 2.4 - 9.2 -11.3
Korea 3.2 1.7 - 1.5 0.8 - 2.3 7.0 8.7 5.2 - 7.9 -12.5
Taiwan 6.3 - 5.7 -11.3 - 4.5 - 7.1 - 9.4 2.2 - 3.9 -11.2 - 7.6
Belgium 1.2 0.3 - 1.0 0.1 - 1.1 4.1 5.2 3.9 0.7 - 3.0
Denmark NA 4.7 NA - 0.7 NA 3.2 NA - 1.4 - 4.2 - 2.8
France 2.8 1.7 - 1.0 1.2 - 2.2 4.0 5.0 2.2 - 0.9 - 3.0
Germany 1.4 0.6 - 0.8 0.4 - 1.2 2.3 3.1 1.7 - 1.4 - 3.0
Italy 1.7 0.7 - 1.0 0.3 - 1.3 2.7 3.8 2.0 - 1.1 - 3.0
Netherlands 0.4 0.2 - 0.2 - 0.1 - 0.1 4.7 4.9 4.4 1.3 - 3.0
Norway 0.8 - 1.2 - 2.0 - 1.6 - 0.4 3.3 5.4 4.6 2.4 - 2.0
Sweden 0.0 - 2.4 - 2.4 - 1.0 - 1.4 0.9 3.4 3.4 - 8.3 -11.3
United Kingdom 1.3 - 2.4 - 3.6 - 4.2 0.6 - 0.3 3.4 2.1 - 3.0 - 5.0
(1) Value of foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar.
NA=Not Available
Table A summarizes changes in manufacturing productivity, unit labor costs,
and related variables between 2000 and 2001. Output and unit labor cost data
are presented for 14 economies. Comparable productivity data are not shown for
Denmark. (See technical notes.)
This release is a revision of news release USDL 02-543, issued in September
2002. It examines comparative trends in manufacturing output per hour, unit
labor costs, and related measures in 2001, the most recent year for which
comparative data are available and for certain selected time periods. Annual
indexes of these variables also are estimated for the time period 1950-2001.
Table B (pages 8-12) shows average annual percent changes for selected
periods, beginning in 1979. Annual indexes of the data are in tables 1-15
(pages 19-33).
The historical series of the variables are available also at the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, Division of Foreign Labor Statistics, web-site at address
http://www.bls.gov/fls/home.htm.
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BOX: Notes about the measures
The measures in this release are based on data available to BLS as of December
2002. Revisions for 2000 and earlier years were made to the measures for
several countries to incorporate data not available at the time of the September
2002 report.
U.S. manufacturing output measure
The output measure for manufacturing in the United States is the chain-weighted
index of real gross domestic product by industry (deflated value added),
published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce.
This series is based on annually changing price weights. Because this measure
is not available for years prior to 1977, U.S. measures of output, output per
hour, and unit labor costs begin with 1977.
The United States real output data through 2001 used in this report were
released by the BEA in November 2002. The estimates are described in the Survey
of Current Business, November 2002.
The U.S. output series used for international comparisons differs from the
manufacturing series that BLS publishes as part of its major sector productivity
and costs measures for the U.S. While both series are based on annually-
changing price weights, the international comparisons program uses a value added
output concept, while the 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.
Germany
From 1991 forward, the estimated growth rates pertain to unified Germany; prior
to 1991 the rates pertained to the former West Germany. The two data series
have been linked in 1991. See technical notes for additional information.
Netherlands
2001 data for the Netherlands were not included in the preliminary estimates
issued in September 2002 because data for that year were not available. The
revised 2001 estimates include data for the Netherlands.
New measures of National Accounts
Member states of the European Union are in the process of 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), on which ESA 95 is based. Revisions due to these conversions to new
systems are being incorporated into the BLS estimates.
END OF BOX: Notes about the measures
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Manufacturing productivity, output, and labor input
In 2001, revised labor productivity in U.S. manufacturing declined by 0.4
percent. This resulted from the combination of a 6.0 percent decline in
manufacturing output that was only partially offset by a 5.6 percent decline in
hours worked.
Of the 13 economies for which comparable data are available, labor
productivity in 2001 increased in nine, declined in three, and remained
unchanged in one. While Taiwan and Korea achieved the largest productivity
increases (6.3 and 3.2 percent, respectively), Canada and Japan recorded the
steepest declines (2.0 and 1.6 percent, respectively). (See table A and chart
1.)
The 0.4 percent decline in U.S. manufacturing productivity in 2001 was the
first annual decline since 1989 and followed accelerating annual productivity
increases throughout the 1990s. (See table 1.) All the other economies except
Taiwan, Italy, and Norway, also recorded slower productivity increases or
declines in 2001 than their preceding 5-year and 10-year average growth rates.
(See tables B and 1.)
In 2001, manufacturing output grew in half of the economies compared and
declined in the other half. The United States recorded the largest output
decline among the economies compared (6.0 percent), followed by Taiwan (5.7
percent).
The preliminary estimate of U.S. manufacturing output for 2001 (released in
September 2002) showed a 3.8 percent drop. This estimate was derived by
extrapolating the 2000 number forward, using the annual growth rate of the
Federal Reserve Board's Industrial Production Index for Total Manufacturing.
The revised U.S. output number is based on manufacturing Real Gross Domestic
Product, released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in November 2002.
For the United States, this was the first year-over-year decline in
manufacturing output since 1991. In all the economies except Denmark,
manufacturing output grew less or declined in 2001 than its average annual
growth rate during the preceding five years.
In 2001, total hours worked in manufacturing declined in all 13 economies for
which this statistic is available. In the United States, hours worked fell by
5.6 percent, the second largest decline after Taiwan's 11.3 percent drop.
Elsewhere, the declines ranged between 0.2 and 3.6 percent. In the three
countries where labor productivity fell in 2001 (United States, Canada, and
Japan), manufacturing output declined more than hours worked.
The reductions in hours worked continued a general trend during the last
decades in the manufacturing sectors of these economies. In most of the
countries, hours worked in manufacturing reached their maximum levels in the
1960s and 1970s (the United States in 1979) and have trended downward since
then. In Taiwan and Korea, manufacturing hours have been declining since the
late 1980s. The only exception to this general trend was Canada. In Canada,
total hours worked in manufacturing, though down from 2000, was greater in 2001
than in any other previous year. (See table 4.)
For most countries, the decline in manufacturing hours through the years was
the result of declines in both manufacturing employment and average hours
worked. The reduction in average hours began earlier, but the decline in
employment has been steeper and steadier.
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In some countries, average hours have risen slightly since 1979. (See tables 5,
6, and B.)
In 2001, manufacturing employment grew in five of the economies and declined
in nine. The largest declines in employment were recorded in Taiwan, the United
Kingdom, and the United States (down 4.5, 4.2, and 4.1 percent, respectively).
Employment increased most in France (1.2 percent). In the five countries that
experienced employment growth in 2001 (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and
Korea), total hours worked still dropped due to relatively greater declines in
average hours.
Average hours fell in 12 of the 13 economies for which manufacturing hours are
available for 2001. The declines ranged from 0.1 percent in the Netherlands to
7.1 percent in Taiwan. In the United States, manufacturing average hours fell
by 1.6 percent. The United Kingdom, the only country where average hours
increased, nonetheless experienced a drop in total hours as a result of a sharp
decline in employment.
Manufacturing hourly compensation and unit labor costs
Hourly compensation in manufacturing increased in all 13 economies in 2001.
For most economies, the increases ranged between 3.1 and 5.4 percent. The U.S.
hourly compensation growth rate was the second lowest (1.5 percent), after
Japan's 0.7 percent. This increase in U.S. hourly compensation is below the
average annual increases of the last 15 years. (See table B.)
Manufacturing unit labor costs, in national currency units, increased
everywhere in 2001, except in Taiwan (down 3.9 percent) and Denmark (down 1.4
percent). The U.S. increase of 2.0 percent was the second lowest after
Germany's 1.7 percent. The largest increases in unit labor costs occurred in
Canada (5.5 percent) and Korea (5.2 percent). While in most countries the
higher unit labor costs were the result of hourly compensation rising more than
labor productivity, in the United States, Canada, and Japan, declining labor
productivity was the cause.
While the 2001 increase in unit labor costs in the United States was low by
comparison with the other countries, it was above the average U.S. annual
increases for the post-1985 period. Since 1985, the average annual growth rate
in U.S. manufacturing unit labor costs was 0.5 percent per year. (See tables 9
and B.)
To compare changes in competitiveness across economies in terms of U.S.
dollars, unit labor costs in national currency units must be adjusted for
changes in the currency's exchange rate against the dollar. When a foreign
currency depreciates against the U.S. dollar, fewer dollars must be paid in
exchange for each national currency unit. This will lead to a smaller increase
or a larger decline in unit labor costs converted from the foreign currency into
U.S. dollars.
In 2001, the U.S. dollar strengthened against the currencies of all the
countries compared. The change in value was greatest against the currencies of
Korea (12.5 percent), and Japan and Sweden (both 11.3 percent). The Norwegian
krone declined least (2.0 percent), while the euro weakened by 3.0 percent.
This continued a trend of a stronger U.S. dollar that had persisted for the
previous five years. (See table B.)
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As a result of the dollar's revaluation, only four countries besides the
United States showed increases in manufacturing unit labor costs in 2001,
denominated in U.S. dollars: Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Norway. In
these four countries, the decline in the values of their currencies was less
than the increase in unit labor costs denominated in their national currency
units.
Because of these exchange rate movements, the 2.0 percent increase in U.S.
unit labor costs went from being the second lowest in terms of national
currencies to being the second highest in U.S. dollar terms.
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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related
measures
Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-2001
Average annual rates of change 1/
Country 1979-2001 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001
or area
Output per hour
United States 3.2 3.5 2.4 3.3 4.5 -0.4
Canada 2.1 3.6 0.5 3.8 1.1 -2.0
Japan 3.5 3.5 4.3 3.3 4.1 -1.6
Korea NA NA 8.2 9.7 11.1 3.2
Taiwan 5.9 5.1 7.9 5.3 5.5 6.3
Belgium 3.6 6.0 2.2 3.2 3.3 1.2
Denmark NA 2.4 0.7 NA NA NA
France 4.2 5.1 3.2 4.0 4.6 2.8
Germany 2/ 2.4 2.1 2.1 3.3 2.4 1.4
Italy 2.2 3.5 1.9 2.4 0.9 1.7
Netherlands 3.2 4.4 2.3 3.7 2.6 0.4
Norway 1.3 2.4 1.4 0.6 0.7 0.8
Sweden 4.3 3.1 1.9 5.7 7.8 0.0
United Kingdom 3.6 4.4 4.6 3.3 2.3 1.3
Output
United States 2.5 2.2 2.5 3.1 4.3 -6.0
Canada 2.4 2.0 1.8 2.4 4.5 -3.3
Japan 2.7 4.7 4.8 0.4 2.0 -4.9
Korea 8.9 8.3 12.2 8.4 8.1 1.7
Taiwan 6.0 8.2 7.0 5.0 5.7 -5.7
Belgium 2.2 2.6 2.5 0.6 3.2 0.3
Denmark 1.4 2.3 -0.6 1.7 1.7 4.7
France 2.1 1.6 2.5 1.1 3.4 1.7
Germany 2/ 0.7 0.2 2.3 -0.7 0.9 0.6
Italy 1.6 0.9 3.2 1.5 1.2 0.7
Netherlands 2.3 1.8 3.2 1.9 2.7 0.2
Norway 0.1 0.6 -1.6 1.2 0.5 -1.2
Sweden 3.4 2.2 1.4 3.7 7.7 -2.4
United Kingdom 0.7 -1.2 3.4 0.4 1.0 -2.4
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, 1979-2001
Average annual rates of change 1/
Country 1979-2001 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001
or area
Total hours
United States -0.7 -1.2 0.0 -0.1 -0.2 -5.6
Canada 0.3 -1.5 1.3 -1.3 3.4 -1.4
Japan -0.9 1.1 0.5 -2.8 -2.0 -3.4
Korea NA NA 3.7 -1.2 -2.7 -1.5
Taiwan 0.0 2.9 -0.8 -0.3 0.2 -11.3
Belgium -1.4 -3.2 0.4 -2.5 -0.1 -1.0
Denmark NA -0.1 -1.3 NA NA NA
France -2.0 -3.3 -0.7 -2.7 -1.1 -1.0
Germany 2/ -1.7 -1.9 0.2 -3.9 -1.5 -0.8
Italy -0.6 -2.5 1.3 -0.9 0.3 -1.0
Netherlands -0.9 -2.5 0.9 -1.7 0.0 -0.2
Norway -1.2 -1.8 -2.9 0.6 -0.2 -2.0
Sweden -0.9 -0.8 -0.5 -1.9 -0.1 -2.4
United Kingdom -2.8 -5.3 -1.2 -2.8 -1.3 -3.6
Employment
United States -0.8 -1.4 -0.1 -0.6 -0.1 -4.1
Canada 0.2 -1.3 1.2 -1.5 3.0 -0.4
Japan -0.4 1.2 0.8 -1.6 -1.9 -2.6
Korea NA NA 5.4 -0.9 -2.5 0.8
Taiwan 0.8 4.1 -0.5 -0.3 0.5 -4.5
Belgium -1.4 -2.6 -0.3 -2.2 -0.7 0.1
Denmark -0.5 0.2 -0.8 -1.2 -0.3 -0.7
France -1.4 -2.3 -0.8 -2.5 -0.2 1.2
Germany 2/ -1.2 -1.1 1.1 -4.2 -0.8 0.4
Italy -1.0 -2.3 -0.2 -1.8 0.3 0.3
Netherlands -0.7 -2.2 1.0 -1.6 0.2 -0.1
Norway -1.1 -1.8 -2.7 0.3 0.1 -1.6
Sweden -1.4 -1.2 -0.8 -3.5 0.0 -1.0
United Kingdom -2.6 -4.6 -0.9 -3.1 -1.0 -4.2
Continued on next page
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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related
measures
Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-2001
Average annual rates of change 1/
Country 1979-2001 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001
or area
Average hours
United States 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.4 -0.1 -1.6
Canada 0.1 -0.2 0.1 0.3 0.4 -1.0
Japan -0.4 0.0 -0.3 -1.3 -0.1 -0.8
Korea NA NA -1.6 -0.2 -0.1 -2.3
Taiwan -0.8 -1.1 -0.4 0.0 -0.3 -7.1
Belgium 0.0 -0.6 0.7 -0.3 0.7 -1.1
Denmark NA -0.3 -0.5 NA NA NA
France -0.6 -1.1 0.1 -0.2 -0.9 -2.2
Germany 2/ -0.6 -0.8 -0.9 0.3 -0.6 -1.2
Italy 0.5 -0.1 1.6 0.9 0.0 -1.3
Netherlands -0.2 -0.3 -0.2 0.0 -0.2 -0.1
Norway -0.1 0.0 -0.2 0.3 -0.3 -0.4
Sweden 0.5 0.4 0.3 1.7 -0.1 -1.4
United Kingdom -0.2 -0.8 -0.3 0.3 -0.3 0.6
Total labor compensation in manufacturing 3/: National currency basis
United States 3.9 5.8 3.9 3.4 3.7 -4.2
Canada 5.0 7.5 5.6 2.4 4.9 2.1
Japan 2.5 5.9 5.1 0.7 -1.1 -2.6
Korea NA NA 19.9 16.8 4.1 7.0
Taiwan 8.6 15.9 10.6 6.8 4.2 -9.4
Belgium 3.1 4.7 4.0 1.3 1.9 4.1
Denmark 4.9 9.1 4.8 2.3 3.1 3.2
France 3.8 9.0 3.6 1.1 0.8 4.0
Germany 2/ 3.3 4.0 5.2 2.3 1.6 2.3
Italy 7.1 13.0 8.2 4.0 3.1 2.7
Netherlands 3.1 2.3 3.5 2.8 3.4 4.7
Norway 5.4 8.0 4.7 4.0 4.9 3.3
Sweden 5.8 8.9 7.9 2.0 4.8 0.9
United Kingdom 4.8 6.2 8.1 2.5 3.2 -0.3
Continued on next page
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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related
measures
Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-2001
Average annual rates of change 1/
Country 1979-2001 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001
or area
Hourly compensation 3/: National currency basis
United States 4.6 7.2 3.9 3.5 4.0 1.5
Canada 4.7 9.1 4.2 3.7 1.4 3.5
Japan 3.4 4.7 4.6 3.6 1.0 0.7
Korea NA NA 15.6 18.2 6.9 8.7
Taiwan 8.6 12.6 11.5 7.1 4.0 2.2
Belgium 4.6 8.1 3.7 3.9 2.0 5.2
Denmark NA 9.3 6.2 NA NA NA
France 5.9 12.7 4.3 3.9 1.9 5.0
Germany 2/ 5.1 6.0 5.0 6.4 3.1 3.1
Italy 7.7 15.9 6.8 4.9 2.8 3.8
Netherlands 4.0 5.0 2.6 4.5 3.3 4.9
Norway 6.7 10.0 7.8 3.4 5.1 5.4
Sweden 6.7 9.8 8.4 4.0 4.8 3.4
United Kingdom 7.8 12.2 9.4 5.4 4.6 3.4
Unit labor costs: National currency basis
United States 1.3 3.6 1.4 0.2 -0.5 2.0
Canada 2.6 5.3 3.7 -0.1 0.4 5.5
Japan -0.1 1.1 0.3 0.3 -3.0 2.4
Korea NA NA 6.9 7.8 -3.7 5.2
Taiwan 2.5 7.1 3.4 1.7 -1.5 -3.9
Belgium 0.9 2.0 1.5 0.7 -1.3 3.9
Denmark 3.4 6.7 5.4 0.6 1.4 -1.4
France 1.7 7.3 1.1 -0.1 -2.6 2.2
Germany 2/ 2.6 3.8 2.8 3.1 0.7 1.7
Italy 5.4 12.0 4.8 2.4 1.9 2.0
Netherlands 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.8 0.7 4.4
Norway 5.3 7.4 6.4 2.8 4.3 4.6
Sweden 2.3 6.5 6.4 -1.6 -2.7 3.4
United Kingdom 4.1 7.5 4.5 2.1 2.2 2.1
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, 1979-2001
Average annual rates of change 1/
Country 1979-2001 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001
or area
Unit labor costs: U.S. dollar basis
United States 1.3 3.6 1.4 0.2 -0.5 2.0
Canada 1.3 2.7 7.0 -3.3 -1.2 1.2
Japan 2.5 -0.3 10.8 9.4 -5.7 -9.2
Korea NA NA 11.1 6.0 -10.8 -7.9
Taiwan 2.8 5.3 11.8 2.0 -4.7 -11.2
Belgium -1.0 -9.3 13.8 3.3 -8.8 0.7
Denmark 1.3 -5.0 17.4 2.7 -5.8 -4.2
France -0.8 -5.3 11.7 1.7 -9.2 -0.9
Germany 2/ 1.8 -4.1 15.9 5.6 -6.9 -1.4
Italy 0.9 -2.5 15.1 -3.7 -3.1 -1.1
Netherlands -0.2 -7.6 13.1 3.4 -7.0 1.3
Norway 2.5 -1.7 13.3 2.5 -2.3 2.4
Sweden -1.7 -5.2 14.7 -5.2 -7.5 -8.3
United Kingdom 2.3 -1.0 11.4 -0.4 1.3 -3.0
Exchange rates 4/
United States -- -- -- -- -- --
Canada -1.3 -2.5 3.2 -3.2 -1.6 -4.1
Japan 2.7 -1.5 10.5 9.1 -2.7 -11.3
Korea -4.4 -9.2 3.9 -1.7 -7.3 -12.5
Taiwan 0.3 -1.7 8.2 0.3 -3.3 -7.6
Belgium -1.9 -11.1 12.2 2.5 -7.6 -3.0
Denmark -2.1 -11.0 11.4 2.0 -7.1 -2.8
France -2.4 -11.7 10.5 1.8 -6.8 -3.0
Germany 2/ -0.8 -7.6 12.7 2.5 -7.5 -3.0
Italy -4.3 -12.9 9.8 -6.0 -4.9 -3.0
Netherlands -0.9 -8.0 12.7 2.6 -7.6 -3.0
Norway -2.6 -8.4 6.6 -0.3 -6.4 -2.0
Sweden -3.9 -11.0 7.8 -3.7 -4.9 -11.3
United Kingdom -1.7 -7.9 6.6 -2.4 -0.8 -5.0
r = revised NA = Not Available
1/Rates of change based on the compound 3/Adjusted to include taxes
rate method. that are not compensation
to employees
but are labor costs to
employers.
2/Data for years before 1991 pertain to the 4/Value of foreign currency
former West Germany. relative to
the U.S. dollar.
-13-
Trade-weighted unit labor costs
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 to take
account of differences in the relative importance of foreign economies to U.S.
trade in manufactured goods. Chart 3 begins in 1979, a year in which U.S.
manufacturing output reached a business cycle peak.
PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT
Chart 3. U.S. manufacturing unit labor costs relative to 12 competitors, 1979-
2001
The construction of the trade-weighted indexes 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; the weights reflect each country's importance in terms of U.S. trade
in manufactured goods. 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 U.S. 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 this release, the relative U.S. trade-weighted indexes
are estimated against 12 economies for which comparable data are available over
this period; the indexes underlying this chart are shown in table C.
In chart 3, the solid line indicates that U.S. unit labor costs rose faster
than "competitors" costs from 1979 to 1986 on a U.S. dollar basis. In most
years from 1986 to 1995, U.S. costs either rose at a slower rate than the
"competitors" costs or fell at a faster rate. From 1996 to 1998, however, the
strength of the U.S. dollar caused relative U.S. unit labor costs to rise.
After a dip in 1999, the index of relative U.S. unit labor costs rose again in
2000 and 2001.
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Table C. U.S. manufacturing unit labor
costs relative to 12 competitors, 1979-2001
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 111.4 110.4 100.9 111.4 110.1 101.2
1981 116.5 118.4 98.4 116.5 108.9 107.0
1982 124.2 126.0 98.6 124.2 104.9 118.5
1983 121.6 127.6 95.3 121.6 103.3 117.7
1984 121.0 128.2 94.4 121.0 97.9 123.5
1985 123.4 129.6 95.2 123.4 96.1 128.4
1986 128.9 135.5 95.1 128.9 122.3 105.4
1987 122.8 137.4 89.4 122.8 140.8 87.2
1988 122.5 137.3 89.3 122.5 151.4 80.9
1989 128.0 140.2 91.3 128.0 149.3 85.7
1990 132.4 146.1 90.6 132.4 161.8 81.8
1991 138.0 151.7 91.0 138.0 171.0 80.7
1992 141.3 155.0 91.2 141.3 179.0 79.0
1993 142.3 155.6 91.4 142.3 175.2 81.2
1994 139.2 153.0 91.0 139.2 175.2 79.4
1995 134.0 152.4 87.9 134.0 184.4 72.6
1996 132.1 153.4 86.1 132.1 176.2 75.0
1997 129.9 151.5 85.8 129.9 161.6 80.4
1998 131.2 153.5 85.5 131.2 155.1 84.6
1999 129.1 151.3 85.3 129.1 157.6 81.9
2000 130.4 146.7 88.9 130.4 148.5 87.8
2001 133.0 150.7 88.2 133.0 142.6 93.2
-15-
Technical Notes
Labor productivity is defined as real output per hour worked. Although the
labor productivity measure presented in this release 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 workforce.
Unit labor costs are defined as the cost of labor input required to produce
one unit of output. They are computed as labor compensation in nominal terms
divided by real output.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics constructs trend indexes of manufacturing labor
productivity, 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
Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwan. 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 Denmark include mining and exclude manufacturing handicrafts from 1960 to
1966 and the measures for France include parts of mining.
The comparisons in this release make use of data made available to BLS as of
December 2002 by the statistical agencies of the individual countries. For some
countries, the data for the most recent years are based on the European System
of Integrated National Accounts (ESA 95) or on the United Nations System of
National Accounts 1993 (SNA 93). For other countries, data were compiled
according to previously used systems.
To obtain historical time series, BLS may link together data series which were
compiled according to different accounting systems by the countries' statistical
agencies.
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 manufacturing value added measures for the United Kingdom are essentially
identical to their indexes of industrial production.
The output measure for manufacturing in the United States is the chain-
weighted index of real gross product originating (deflated value added),
introduced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Department of
Commerce in August 1996. U.S. gross product originating is a chain-type annual-
weighted series. Because these value added output data for U.S. manufacturing
industries are not available for years prior to 1977, the comparative U.S.
measures of output, output per hour, and unit labor costs begin with 1977. For
more information on the U.S. measure, see Sherlene K.S. Lum, Brian C. Moyer, and
Robert E. Yuskavage, "Improved Estimates of Gross Product by Industry for 1947-
98," Survey of Current Business, June 2000, pp. 24-38.
-16-
The gross product originating series differs from the manufacturing output
series that BLS publishes as part of its major sector productivity and costs
program. While both series are based on annually-changing price weights, the
gross product originating series is on a value added basis rather than the
sectoral output basis used in the official U.S. manufacturing productivity
series. Sectoral output is gross output less intrasector sales and transfers.
For information on sectoral output, see William Gullickson, "Measurement of
productivity growth in U.S. manufacturing," Monthly Labor Review, July 1995, pp.
13-28.
A value added concept has been used for the international comparisons series
because the data are more readily available from 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 productivity, there are other considerations that may make
value added a better concept for international comparisons of labor
productivity, such as differences among countries in the extent of vertical
integration of industries.
Estimation of manufacturing real output using moving price weights is becoming
prevalent. For example, the output measure for manufacturing in the United
States is the chain-weighted index of real gross product originating, based on
annually changing price weights. However, many earlier time periods within the
historical real output series have been estimated using fixed price weights,
with the weights updated periodically (for example, every 5 or 10 years).
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 aggregate hours worked series used for France (from 1970
forward), Norway, Sweden, and Canada are series published with the national
accounts. For the former West Germany after 1959 and Germany from 1991, BLS
uses aggregate hours worked, which were developed by a research institute of the
German Ministry of Labor for use with the national accounts employment figures.
For the United Kingdom from 1992, an index of total manufacturing hours is used,
derived from published quarterly indices of manufacturing hours. For all other
countries, the U.K. before 1992, and the former West Germany before 1959, BLS
constructs its own estimates of aggregate hours, using employment figures
published with the national accounts, or other comprehensive employment series,
and estimates of average annual hours worked. Hours measures for Denmark are
not available after 1993 due to a lack of comparable data.
Compensation (Labor Cost). The compensation measures are from national accounts
data. 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 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 using the Consumer Price Index research series (CPI-U-RS).
-17-
Data for Germany. The average annual growth rates for Germany pertain to
unified Germany from 1991 forward and to the former West Germany for prior
years. The data series are linked in 1991. In the historic data tables,
separate index series are shown for unified Germany and for former West Germany.
The West German estimates end with 1998, the last year for which the German
Statistical Office has published the necessary underlying data. These estimates
have not been updated or revised by BLS since they were published in the news
release USDL 99-235, on Aug. 27, 1999.
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 Taiwan. BLS developed
weights for Taiwan by using data from an earlier study from the International
Monetary Fund and other sources. The weight used for Germany is based on the
trade weight of the former West Germany.
The following weights were used for the entire period for which trade-weighted
unit labor cost measures are produced:
Country Weight Country Weight
Canada 25.31 Germany 11.61
Japan 30.57 Italy 4.60
Taiwan 5.79 Netherlands 2.25
Belgium 2.14 Norway 0.48
Denmark 0.48 Sweden 1.89
France 5.90 United Kingdom 8.99
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 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). However,
these parities are derived for expenditures made by consumers, business, and
government for goods and
-18-
services -- not for value added by industry. Therefore, they do not provide
purchasing power parities by industry. The parities developed for total GDP are
not suitable for each component industry, such as manufacturing.
European exchange rates. On Jan. 1, 1999, 11 European countries joined the
European Monetary Union (EMU). Greece joined on Jan. 1, 2001. Currencies of
EMU members are established at fixed conversion rates to the euro, the official
currency of the EMU. Exchange rates between the national currencies of EMU
countries and the U.S. dollar are no longer reported; only the exchange rate
between the euro and the U.S. dollar is available.
Beginning with 1999, exchange rates in national currencies for Belgium,
France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands are calculated by taking the number
of euros per U.S. dollar and then converting euros into national currencies at
fixed conversion rates.
1 euro equals: 40.3399 Belgian francs 1936.27 Italian lire
6.55957 French francs 2.20371 Netherlands guilders
1.95583 German marks
The currency exchange rates cited in this publication are annual averages of
daily buying rates in New York City.
- 19 -
Table 1. Output per hour in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 26.0 NA NA NA NA 21.2 12.2 NA 13.2 13.5 11.1 24.9 19.5 24.5
1955 NA 31.9 8.6 NA NA NA 23.1 15.3 NA 19.7 18.8 14.2 29.0 21.3 26.5
1960 NA 37.8 13.8 NA NA 18.0 28.1 19.9 NA 29.2 23.6 18.3 37.4 27.3 30.0
1961 NA 39.8 15.6 NA NA 18.2 29.7 21.1 NA 30.6 25.5 19.3 38.7 28.7 30.1
1962 NA 42.7 16.4 NA NA 19.2 31.2 22.5 NA 32.8 28.2 20.0 38.7 30.9 30.7
1963 NA 44.5 17.7 NA NA 19.9 32.2 23.7 NA 34.1 29.0 20.8 40.7 32.7 32.4
1964 NA 46.3 20.1 NA NA 21.2 34.9 25.6 NA 37.1 29.3 22.8 43.0 35.5 34.5
1965 NA 48.6 21.0 NA NA 22.3 36.6 27.3 NA 39.3 32.6 24.3 45.6 38.2 35.5
1966 NA 49.5 23.0 NA NA 23.8 38.4 29.6 NA 40.9 35.4 25.9 47.5 39.8 36.7
1967 NA 50.0 26.0 NA NA 25.1 41.4 31.4 NA 43.4 37.2 27.8 49.2 43.2 38.4
1968 NA 52.7 29.1 NA NA 27.3 44.4 34.7 NA 47.0 40.1 31.2 52.2 47.2 41.3
1969 NA 55.4 33.4 NA NA 29.9 46.7 36.9 NA 50.4 41.6 34.3 57.1 50.9 42.3
1970 NA 54.9 37.5 NA NA 32.9 49.4 39.1 NA 52.0 44.3 37.5 58.8 52.2 43.2
1971 NA 58.2 39.8 NA NA 35.1 52.8 41.4 NA 54.0 45.0 39.7 60.6 54.5 45.4
1972 NA 61.3 43.6 NA NA 39.2 57.6 43.2 NA 57.4 47.8 42.9 63.7 57.2 47.9
1973 NA 65.2 47.6 NA 33.1 43.5 63.5 46.3 NA 61.1 52.1 47.5 67.6 61.4 51.4
1974 NA 66.2 48.8 NA 32.0 45.8 65.2 47.3 NA 63.2 55.3 51.0 70.2 64.0 52.2
1975 NA 63.4 50.2 NA 33.7 47.6 70.6 49.0 NA 65.9 52.3 50.3 69.5 65.0 51.1
1976 NA 68.8 53.2 NA 36.7 52.4 74.4 52.0 NA 70.6 59.8 55.8 71.1 66.0 53.3
1977 68.3 72.4 55.3 NA 38.5 55.0 77.3 55.0 NA 72.7 61.7 60.3 72.2 65.0 53.8
1978 69.2 73.8 57.5 NA 43.4 58.3 79.6 57.5 NA 75.2 64.9 64.3 73.5 66.8 54.6
1979 70.1 73.9 62.2 NA 45.1 61.4 83.3 59.5 NA 78.4 71.1 67.4 78.9 72.0 55.0
1980 70.5 72.9 63.2 NA 47.7 65.4 86.2 61.7 NA 77.2 74.2 68.1 77.5 73.1 54.3
1981 74.1 76.5 65.2 NA 52.8 70.1 87.3 65.2 NA 78.7 73.8 69.7 77.2 72.7 57.1
1982 76.2 77.1 67.9 NA 54.1 73.5 88.4 69.9 NA 78.8 74.0 70.9 80.5 75.4 60.2
1983 80.0 81.9 68.8 NA 57.5 81.0 93.5 73.5 NA 82.6 75.7 76.5 83.2 80.9 65.0
1984 83.2 88.8 71.2 NA 59.1 85.0 94.3 76.0 NA 85.4 81.9 84.0 88.3 85.2 68.4
1985 86.0 91.1 76.5 54.9 60.9 87.0 95.8 80.0 NA 89.1 87.4 87.6 91.1 86.2 71.1
1986 86.0 87.6 76.1 58.9 66.6 87.8 91.8 82.6 NA 89.6 87.9 89.3 89.8 87.5 73.9
1987 92.9 87.8 80.2 63.2 72.8 88.9 91.5 84.2 NA 88.1 89.3 90.1 94.2 89.2 78.1
1988 96.9 89.6 83.9 68.7 76.4 92.0 94.1 88.6 NA 91.5 93.9 92.0 93.1 90.5 82.6
1989 95.7 92.5 88.6 73.2 83.1 96.9 100.2 92.3 NA 94.6 95.5 95.9 95.5 93.2 86.2
1990 96.9 93.4 94.4 81.3 88.9 96.8 99.1 93.8 NA 99.0 95.8 98.3 97.6 94.6 89.2
1991 97.9 95.3 99.0 91.4 96.6 99.1 99.5 97.0 98.3 101.9 95.9 99.0 98.2 95.5 93.8
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 102.1 105.8 101.7 108.1 102.9 102.5 99.3 100.6 101.8 100.6 101.4 102.5 99.6 107.3 103.9
1994 107.3 110.8 103.3 118.0 106.7 108.4 NA 108.2 109.6 107.9 104.9 113.5 99.6 117.8 107.2
1995 113.8 112.4 111.0 129.2 115.1 113.2 NA 113.9 112.3 111.2 108.0 117.6 100.7 124.5 104.9
1996 117.0 109.7 116.1 142.5 123.1 117.3 NA 114.6 114.7 115.1 108.1 119.7 102.5 129.5 103.8
1997 121.3 113.5 121.0 163.3 129.2 127.0 NA 121.9 120.4 121.8 109.9 121.7 102.0 141.0 105.0
1998 126.5 113.1 121.2 182.9 135.8 129.4 NA 127.7 122.0 127.1 110.0 124.5 99.9 149.5 106.9
1999 133.7 116.0 126.7 202.3 143.1 128.8 NA 132.7 121.3 NA 109.9 127.4 103.6 162.7 111.3
2000 142.1 118.4 135.9 218.4 150.6 133.2 NA 142.5 126.7 NA 113.0 134.0 104.5 181.0 117.8
2001 141.5 116.1 133.8 225.5 160.1 134.9 NA 146.4 128.4 NA 115.0 134.5 105.3 181.0 119.3
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 20 -
Table 2. Output per employed person in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 28.3 NA NA NA NA 29.9 14.7 NA 19.2 14.2 14.5 32.6 25.3 30.1
1955 NA 33.4 10.3 NA NA NA 31.9 18.3 NA 28.8 20.3 18.5 38.0 27.5 32.9
1960 NA 39.3 17.1 NA NA 22.6 36.9 24.0 NA 38.4 25.7 24.1 47.1 33.3 36.5
1961 NA 41.3 19.1 NA NA 22.9 37.8 25.6 NA 39.6 27.5 24.4 48.0 34.7 36.2
1962 NA 44.6 19.6 NA NA 24.1 40.1 27.2 NA 41.3 29.5 25.1 47.9 37.1 36.6
1963 NA 46.6 21.0 NA NA 25.0 40.7 28.7 NA 42.4 30.4 26.1 50.1 38.9 38.5
1964 NA 48.7 23.7 NA NA 26.5 44.4 30.8 NA 46.1 30.7 28.2 53.3 41.8 41.4
1965 NA 51.1 24.3 NA NA 27.4 46.5 32.6 NA 48.7 33.1 30.0 55.2 44.5 42.0
1966 NA 51.6 26.8 NA NA 29.1 48.0 35.4 NA 50.0 36.4 31.8 57.6 46.4 42.6
1967 NA 52.2 30.4 NA NA 30.3 51.1 37.3 NA 51.7 38.7 34.0 59.2 49.5 44.3
1968 NA 55.0 33.9 NA NA 33.0 53.5 40.0 NA 56.6 41.8 37.5 61.3 52.9 48.0
1969 NA 57.5 38.3 NA NA 35.7 55.7 43.6 NA 60.7 43.0 40.6 65.5 56.1 49.1
1970 NA 56.7 42.6 NA NA 38.3 57.0 45.6 NA 62.4 44.9 43.6 67.0 57.4 49.4
1971 NA 59.9 44.5 NA NA 40.2 60.7 47.9 NA 63.4 44.3 45.7 68.3 59.8 50.7
1972 NA 63.1 48.5 NA NA 43.9 64.7 49.6 NA 66.6 46.8 48.7 70.7 61.1 52.9
1973 NA 66.6 52.4 NA 36.9 47.6 67.5 52.2 NA 70.4 51.7 52.9 74.6 64.4 57.5
1974 NA 67.1 51.5 NA 34.4 48.7 70.8 52.7 NA 71.4 52.9 55.0 76.4 66.5 56.6
1975 NA 63.5 51.8 NA 37.1 48.0 74.2 52.9 NA 72.5 49.1 53.3 75.2 66.2 55.2
1976 NA 69.0 56.5 NA 40.5 53.8 78.6 56.3 NA 79.9 56.2 59.0 74.9 66.4 58.1
1977 67.1 72.6 58.9 NA 42.6 56.1 80.9 59.1 NA 81.1 57.7 63.5 74.8 64.9 59.0
1978 67.9 74.5 61.5 NA 47.5 59.4 82.3 61.3 NA 82.8 60.6 67.0 74.6 64.9 59.6
1979 68.4 74.2 67.0 NA 49.2 62.6 86.1 63.4 NA 86.0 65.8 69.4 78.7 69.0 59.8
1980 67.9 72.6 68.0 NA 52.1 65.6 89.6 65.6 NA 83.5 68.9 70.5 77.8 69.3 57.4
1981 71.4 75.4 69.7 NA 54.9 68.7 89.6 68.4 NA 84.1 68.4 72.5 77.6 69.3 59.2
1982 72.1 75.4 72.3 NA 56.2 73.7 92.1 70.5 NA 83.7 68.5 74.6 80.2 72.1 62.9
1983 77.8 81.2 73.4 NA 59.8 79.2 98.7 73.8 NA 87.9 70.0 80.6 83.3 78.3 67.8
1984 82.0 87.9 76.6 NA 61.9 82.5 99.3 76.2 NA 90.9 75.9 87.2 88.2 84.0 71.4
1985 84.9 90.7 82.1 60.7 62.0 85.7 97.5 79.9 NA 93.1 80.2 88.6 90.7 84.4 73.8
1986 84.8 87.7 81.2 66.3 69.0 86.5 95.6 82.7 NA 93.0 83.1 89.9 89.5 85.3 76.4
1987 92.1 88.6 86.0 70.0 75.4 88.4 93.2 84.7 NA 91.3 86.9 90.2 91.6 88.0 80.9
1988 96.9 92.3 90.9 74.2 78.2 93.0 95.9 89.6 NA 94.4 92.0 92.9 91.2 89.1 85.7
1989 95.7 93.2 94.8 76.0 83.8 97.5 100.8 93.3 NA 96.2 94.7 96.3 94.1 91.5 89.0
1990 96.3 93.6 99.7 83.2 88.8 98.5 98.5 94.3 NA 98.8 95.0 98.6 96.0 93.9 91.3
1991 96.6 95.1 102.2 92.7 96.6 99.2 99.1 96.5 94.7 101.0 96.0 99.1 97.2 94.7 93.9
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 103.4 106.9 99.6 108.3 102.9 100.9 98.5 100.5 99.4 97.6 99.8 102.4 99.9 110.0 104.9
1994 109.7 113.0 101.4 119.0 107.0 109.7 110.2 108.2 107.8 104.7 106.9 113.5 100.1 126.4 109.6
1995 115.6 114.1 109.7 130.5 114.9 113.3 113.7 113.1 110.5 107.3 112.2 117.8 100.3 134.5 109.1
1996 118.7 112.2 115.4 141.7 122.7 117.9 108.5 113.9 110.3 109.3 110.9 119.8 101.5 139.6 108.4
1997 123.9 116.0 119.6 160.1 129.2 127.8 118.1 120.8 115.9 116.0 114.2 121.4 100.8 151.6 109.3
1998 128.1 116.2 117.3 172.2 133.2 130.4 117.5 126.3 117.9 122.3 113.5 123.8 99.1 160.8 110.3
1999 136.3 120.4 122.5 205.7 141.2 133.1 120.7 130.5 116.7 NA 113.8 126.8 103.1 176.0 114.5
2000 143.6 122.7 133.6 219.2 148.4 137.7 125.4 135.4 120.7 NA 117.6 133.2 102.5 194.9 120.9
2001 140.7 119.1 130.5 221.1 146.5 137.9 132.2 136.1 120.9 NA 118.1 133.6 102.9 192.2 123.2
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 21 -
Table 3. Output in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 NA 22.0 2.2 NA NA NA 29.1 16.6 NA 14.5 10.1 16.4 38.8 30.9 49.6
1955 NA 28.5 4.9 NA NA NA 32.0 20.6 NA 27.5 15.6 22.5 47.5 35.7 58.3
1960 NA 33.4 10.7 NA NA 30.7 44.4 27.9 NA 41.5 23.0 31.0 57.4 45.9 67.3
1961 NA 34.7 12.9 NA NA 32.1 46.8 30.0 NA 44.0 25.4 32.1 59.8 49.0 67.6
1962 NA 38.6 14.0 NA NA 34.6 50.8 32.1 NA 46.2 28.1 33.7 60.3 52.8 67.7
1963 NA 41.2 15.6 NA NA 36.2 51.4 34.6 NA 47.1 29.9 35.1 63.9 55.4 70.2
1964 NA 45.1 18.1 NA NA 39.5 57.5 37.8 NA 51.2 30.3 38.5 68.4 60.3 76.5
1965 NA 49.5 18.8 NA NA 40.8 61.3 39.7 NA 55.0 31.9 41.1 72.0 64.5 78.7
1966 NA 52.9 21.3 NA NA 43.2 62.6 43.3 NA 55.9 34.8 43.4 76.3 66.3 80.1
1967 NA 53.9 25.6 NA NA 43.7 63.7 45.4 NA 54.7 38.3 45.1 78.8 68.5 80.6
1968 NA 57.0 29.5 NA NA 46.7 67.3 47.9 NA 60.3 41.8 49.3 80.7 72.0 86.6
1969 NA 60.7 34.4 NA NA 52.2 71.8 53.7 NA 67.4 44.5 54.1 86.6 77.7 89.9
1970 NA 58.9 39.2 7.0 12.7 57.6 73.9 57.7 NA 70.9 48.1 58.2 90.6 80.7 90.2
1971 NA 62.5 41.0 8.3 15.5 60.1 75.1 61.3 NA 71.6 48.8 60.2 92.9 81.2 89.3
1972 NA 67.9 44.7 9.5 18.9 64.7 81.5 64.2 NA 73.8 51.5 61.8 97.2 81.7 91.2
1973 NA 74.9 50.4 12.3 22.3 70.6 85.5 69.1 NA 78.5 58.1 66.2 102.8 87.5 99.7
1974 NA 76.5 49.1 14.3 21.0 73.4 85.9 70.4 NA 77.7 61.8 68.7 106.3 92.2 98.4
1975 NA 70.4 46.6 16.2 22.0 67.9 82.1 69.0 NA 74.1 58.3 64.2 104.0 92.5 91.6
1976 NA 76.4 50.6 19.9 27.0 73.0 86.8 73.0 NA 79.8 66.9 68.1 103.5 92.5 93.3
1977 72.5 78.8 52.2 22.8 30.6 73.3 88.2 76.4 NA 81.3 69.3 71.5 103.5 87.2 95.2
1978 76.5 83.2 53.7 27.5 37.1 74.3 88.8 78.1 NA 82.8 72.7 73.7 101.4 84.9 95.7
1979 79.0 85.9 58.4 30.1 40.0 76.2 92.8 79.6 NA 87.1 80.3 75.6 105.5 90.3 95.5
1980 75.8 83.6 60.4 29.9 44.0 78.2 94.4 81.6 NA 85.3 84.4 75.7 104.4 90.7 87.2
1981 79.2 86.6 62.6 32.7 47.3 77.2 90.4 82.2 NA 84.4 81.8 75.8 102.5 88.0 81.8
1982 74.6 78.7 64.6 34.6 48.5 80.4 92.1 83.4 NA 81.5 80.2 75.0 102.0 88.3 81.7
1983 79.2 82.5 66.6 39.5 54.1 84.6 98.0 85.5 NA 82.7 79.6 77.3 100.6 93.9 83.5
1984 87.6 91.8 71.0 46.0 62.2 87.2 103.0 85.7 NA 85.2 82.2 81.8 105.5 101.3 86.5
1985 90.0 96.9 76.7 48.8 64.3 89.1 106.1 87.5 NA 88.3 84.9 84.2 109.2 102.9 89.0
1986 88.6 96.8 75.5 57.9 74.7 89.1 106.9 89.0 NA 89.7 86.4 86.4 108.9 104.0 90.2
1987 96.4 100.7 79.0 68.5 84.3 88.8 101.8 89.1 NA 88.0 89.0 87.5 111.5 106.6 94.5
1988 103.2 108.5 85.3 76.7 87.7 93.3 100.9 93.2 NA 90.9 95.0 89.9 106.1 109.8 101.4
1989 102.4 111.3 90.9 79.4 90.8 99.1 105.0 97.7 NA 94.0 98.3 93.9 102.1 110.9 105.5
1990 101.6 106.0 97.1 86.7 90.0 101.0 102.8 99.1 NA 99.1 99.4 98.6 100.9 110.1 105.4
1991 98.3 99.0 102.0 95.0 96.1 100.7 101.5 99.8 102.3 102.8 99.3 99.8 99.0 104.1 100.0
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 103.5 105.9 96.3 105.4 102.4 97.0 95.6 95.7 92.4 91.8 96.5 98.2 101.7 101.9 101.4
1994 111.1 114.1 94.9 116.8 108.5 101.4 105.6 100.3 95.1 93.5 102.4 104.8 104.6 117.0 106.1
1995 118.4 119.6 98.9 129.9 114.9 104.2 111.6 104.9 95.2 93.7 107.2 108.6 107.3 131.9 107.8
1996 121.3 119.6 103.0 138.7 120.3 106.7 106.7 104.6 92.5 92.5 105.4 109.2 110.3 136.4 108.5
1997 127.9 127.7 106.5 147.8 128.3 114.0 115.2 109.7 95.7 95.8 108.8 111.9 114.2 146.5 109.9
1998 133.1 132.8 100.2 136.8 132.6 116.5 115.7 115.0 97.7 100.7 110.7 115.2 113.7 158.3 110.8
1999 139.5 141.0 101.9 165.6 141.5 117.3 117.7 118.7 95.7 NA 110.5 118.0 113.6 172.5 111.1
2000 146.1 148.8 109.2 191.9 151.8 122.0 121.4 124.1 99.8 NA 113.9 123.9 110.2 191.1 113.4
2001 137.3 143.9 103.9 195.2 143.1 122.3 127.1 126.3 100.4 NA 114.7 124.2 108.9 186.6 110.7
NA: Not Available
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 22 -
Table 4. Total hours in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 85.5 84.8 NA NA NA NA 137.3 136.3 NA 109.8 75.0 147.8 155.6 158.5 202.2
1955 94.6 89.4 57.0 NA NA NA 138.5 135.1 NA 139.6 83.1 158.2 163.7 167.3 220.2
1960 92.1 88.3 77.8 NA NA 170.7 157.8 140.0 NA 142.3 97.6 169.7 153.6 168.3 224.6
1961 89.7 87.2 82.4 NA NA 175.9 157.5 141.6 NA 143.9 99.6 166.2 154.5 171.0 224.7
1962 93.4 90.3 85.1 NA NA 180.3 162.7 142.7 NA 140.8 99.5 168.3 155.8 170.8 220.3
1963 94.4 92.6 87.9 NA NA 181.8 159.6 146.0 NA 138.1 103.2 168.6 156.9 169.1 216.6
1964 96.4 97.2 90.0 NA NA 186.5 164.9 147.8 NA 138.0 103.5 169.0 159.2 169.6 221.7
1965 102.0 101.9 89.8 NA NA 183.2 167.5 145.1 NA 140.0 97.7 169.4 158.1 168.8 221.5
1966 108.6 106.8 92.8 NA NA 181.5 162.8 146.5 NA 136.7 98.2 167.4 160.8 166.5 218.2
1967 108.0 107.9 98.3 NA NA 173.6 153.8 144.5 NA 125.9 102.8 161.8 160.1 158.4 209.8
1968 109.6 108.2 101.4 NA NA 170.9 151.7 138.1 NA 128.3 104.2 157.9 154.6 152.6 209.6
1969 110.9 109.7 103.0 NA NA 174.9 153.6 145.5 NA 133.8 107.0 157.6 151.7 152.5 212.4
1970 104.4 107.1 104.4 NA NA 174.7 149.5 147.5 NA 136.3 108.5 155.4 153.9 154.7 208.8
1971 100.5 107.4 103.1 NA NA 171.4 142.1 148.2 NA 132.5 108.4 151.6 153.4 149.1 196.9
1972 105.1 110.8 102.6 NA NA 165.2 141.4 148.4 NA 128.7 107.7 144.1 152.6 142.9 190.5
1973 110.4 114.9 106.0 NA 67.4 162.1 134.8 149.2 NA 128.4 111.4 139.4 152.1 142.5 194.1
1974 107.9 115.5 100.6 NA 65.6 160.4 131.7 148.8 NA 122.9 111.8 134.6 151.5 144.0 188.5
1975 97.2 111.1 92.8 NA 65.1 142.6 116.3 140.8 NA 112.5 111.4 127.5 149.6 142.3 179.3
1976 101.9 111.1 95.0 NA 73.7 139.4 116.7 140.5 NA 113.1 111.9 122.0 145.5 140.2 175.1
1977 106.1 108.8 94.4 NA 79.3 133.3 114.1 138.7 NA 111.8 112.3 118.4 143.2 134.2 176.9
1978 110.6 112.8 93.3 NA 85.5 127.4 111.5 135.9 NA 110.1 112.0 114.6 137.9 127.1 175.4
1979 112.7 116.2 93.8 NA 88.7 124.2 111.3 133.7 NA 111.0 112.9 112.0 133.7 125.5 173.7
1980 107.5 114.6 95.6 NA 92.3 119.7 109.6 132.3 NA 110.5 113.8 111.2 134.7 124.0 160.5
1981 107.0 113.2 95.9 NA 89.7 110.2 103.6 126.0 NA 107.1 111.0 108.8 132.7 121.0 143.3
1982 97.9 102.0 95.1 NA 89.6 109.4 104.1 119.3 NA 103.4 108.4 105.7 126.8 117.2 135.6
1983 98.9 100.7 96.8 NA 94.0 104.3 104.9 116.2 NA 100.1 105.3 101.0 120.9 116.1 128.4
1984 105.3 103.4 99.8 NA 105.2 102.6 109.2 112.9 NA 99.7 100.3 97.4 119.4 118.9 126.4
1985 104.6 106.4 100.3 88.8 105.5 102.4 110.7 109.4 NA 99.1 97.1 96.1 119.9 119.4 125.2
1986 103.0 110.5 99.2 98.3 112.2 101.5 116.4 107.7 NA 100.1 98.3 96.7 121.2 118.9 122.0
1987 103.8 114.7 98.5 108.3 115.8 100.0 111.2 105.8 NA 99.9 99.7 97.2 118.3 119.5 121.0
1988 106.6 121.2 101.7 111.6 114.8 101.5 107.2 105.2 NA 99.3 101.2 97.7 114.0 121.4 122.8
1989 107.1 120.2 102.7 108.5 109.2 102.3 104.7 105.7 NA 99.3 103.0 97.9 106.8 119.0 122.4
1990 104.8 113.5 102.9 106.6 101.3 104.3 103.7 105.6 NA 100.1 103.7 100.3 103.4 116.4 118.1
1991 100.4 103.9 103.1 103.9 99.5 101.5 102.1 102.9 104.1 100.9 103.6 100.8 100.8 109.0 106.6
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 101.4 100.1 94.7 97.5 99.6 94.7 96.2 95.1 90.8 91.3 95.2 95.8 102.1 94.9 97.6
1994 103.6 103.0 91.9 98.9 101.6 93.6 NA 92.7 86.8 86.7 97.6 92.4 105.0 99.4 99.0
1995 104.0 106.4 89.1 100.6 99.8 92.0 NA 92.1 84.8 84.3 99.3 92.3 106.6 105.9 102.7
1996 103.6 109.0 88.7 97.3 97.7 91.0 NA 91.3 80.6 80.4 97.5 91.2 107.6 105.3 104.6
1997 105.4 112.4 88.0 90.5 99.3 89.7 NA 90.0 79.5 78.6 99.0 91.9 112.0 103.9 104.7
1998 105.2 117.5 82.7 74.8 97.7 90.0 NA 90.0 80.1 79.3 100.6 92.6 113.7 105.9 103.7
1999 104.4 121.5 80.4 81.9 98.9 91.0 NA 89.4 78.9 NA 100.5 92.6 109.6 106.0 99.9
2000 102.8 125.6 80.3 87.9 100.8 91.6 NA 87.1 78.8 NA 100.7 92.5 105.4 105.6 96.3
2001 97.1 123.9 77.7 86.5 89.4 90.7 NA 86.2 78.2 NA 99.7 92.3 103.4 103.1 92.8
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 23 -
Table 5. Employment in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 84.3 77.9 NA NA NA NA 97.5 112.9 NA 75.2 71.4 113.5 119.0 122.0 164.6
1955 93.1 85.3 47.8 NA NA NA 100.2 112.5 NA 95.5 77.1 121.2 124.9 129.7 177.1
1960 92.6 84.8 62.8 NA NA 135.7 120.3 116.1 NA 108.1 89.5 128.8 121.9 137.8 184.3
1961 90.0 84.1 67.5 NA NA 140.1 123.7 116.9 NA 111.3 92.4 131.6 124.5 141.3 186.9
1962 92.8 86.5 71.3 NA NA 143.3 126.8 118.1 NA 111.8 95.3 134.1 126.0 142.2 185.1
1963 93.5 88.5 74.1 NA NA 144.7 126.4 120.6 NA 111.0 98.3 134.8 127.4 142.4 182.2
1964 94.9 92.5 76.4 NA NA 148.8 129.5 122.9 NA 111.0 98.6 136.5 128.5 144.3 185.0
1965 99.3 96.9 77.4 NA NA 148.7 131.7 121.7 NA 113.0 96.3 137.2 130.6 144.8 187.4
1966 105.4 102.4 79.7 NA NA 148.5 130.4 122.3 NA 111.8 95.7 136.3 132.4 143.0 187.9
1967 106.7 103.3 84.3 NA NA 143.9 124.6 121.8 NA 105.8 98.8 132.3 133.2 138.3 182.1
1968 108.5 103.8 87.2 NA NA 141.5 125.7 119.7 NA 106.6 100.2 131.5 131.7 136.0 180.4
1969 110.6 105.7 89.7 NA NA 146.3 129.0 123.2 NA 111.0 103.6 133.1 132.3 138.4 182.9
1970 106.3 103.9 91.9 NA NA 150.2 129.7 126.4 NA 113.6 107.0 133.7 135.3 140.6 182.6
1971 102.2 104.4 92.3 NA NA 149.6 123.6 128.0 NA 112.9 109.9 131.6 136.1 135.9 176.4
1972 105.0 107.7 92.3 NA NA 147.4 125.8 129.5 NA 110.8 110.0 126.9 137.5 133.8 172.2
1973 110.5 112.5 96.2 NA 60.3 148.4 126.6 132.2 NA 111.5 112.4 125.2 137.8 135.8 173.2
1974 110.1 113.9 95.3 NA 61.2 150.7 121.4 133.7 NA 108.9 116.9 124.8 139.3 138.7 173.9
1975 100.6 110.9 90.0 NA 59.3 141.5 110.6 130.3 NA 102.2 118.5 120.4 138.3 139.8 165.9
1976 104.2 110.7 89.5 NA 66.7 135.8 110.5 129.6 NA 99.9 119.1 115.4 138.1 139.4 160.6
1977 108.2 108.5 88.6 NA 71.9 130.5 109.1 129.1 NA 100.3 120.1 112.6 138.3 134.5 161.2
1978 112.7 111.7 87.4 NA 78.1 125.0 107.8 127.6 NA 100.0 120.0 110.0 135.8 130.7 160.5
1979 115.6 115.7 87.2 NA 81.4 121.8 107.8 125.6 NA 101.2 121.9 108.8 134.0 131.0 159.6
1980 111.6 115.1 88.9 NA 84.4 119.3 105.4 124.3 NA 102.2 122.6 107.3 134.2 130.9 151.8
1981 111.0 114.8 89.8 NA 86.2 112.4 100.9 120.1 NA 100.3 119.6 104.6 132.0 127.0 138.0
1982 103.5 104.3 89.3 NA 86.3 109.2 99.9 118.3 NA 97.4 117.1 100.5 127.3 122.4 129.9
1983 101.8 101.6 90.8 NA 90.5 106.8 99.3 115.8 NA 94.1 113.7 95.9 120.8 119.9 123.2
1984 106.8 104.4 92.7 NA 100.4 105.7 103.7 112.5 NA 93.7 108.4 93.8 119.6 120.5 121.1
1985 106.0 106.8 93.5 80.3 103.7 104.0 108.8 109.6 NA 94.9 105.8 95.0 120.5 122.0 120.6
1986 104.5 110.4 93.0 87.3 108.4 103.0 111.8 107.6 NA 96.4 103.9 96.0 121.7 121.9 118.0
1987 104.7 113.7 91.9 97.9 111.8 100.5 109.3 105.1 NA 96.4 102.5 97.0 121.8 121.1 116.8
1988 106.6 117.6 93.9 103.4 112.2 100.4 105.3 104.0 NA 96.3 103.3 96.8 116.3 123.3 118.3
1989 107.0 119.4 95.9 104.4 108.3 101.7 104.1 104.6 NA 97.6 103.8 97.5 108.4 121.2 118.6
1990 105.4 113.2 97.5 104.3 101.4 102.5 104.3 105.1 NA 100.3 104.6 100.0 105.2 117.2 115.4
1991 101.8 104.1 99.8 102.5 99.5 101.5 102.4 103.5 108.0 101.8 103.5 100.7 101.9 109.9 106.5
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.1 99.1 96.8 97.3 99.6 96.1 97.0 95.2 93.0 94.0 96.8 95.9 101.8 92.6 96.6
1994 101.3 100.9 93.6 98.1 101.4 92.5 95.8 92.7 88.2 89.3 95.8 92.4 104.5 92.6 96.8
1995 102.5 104.8 90.1 99.6 99.9 91.9 98.1 92.7 86.2 87.3 95.6 92.1 107.0 98.0 98.8
1996 102.2 106.6 89.3 97.9 98.1 90.5 98.3 91.8 83.8 84.6 95.1 91.1 108.7 97.7 100.1
1997 103.2 110.0 89.1 92.3 99.3 89.2 97.5 90.9 82.6 82.6 95.3 92.2 113.3 96.6 100.6
1998 104.0 114.3 85.5 79.5 99.6 89.3 98.4 91.0 82.9 82.4 97.5 93.1 114.7 98.4 100.4
1999 102.4 117.1 83.2 80.5 100.2 88.1 97.6 90.9 82.0 NA 97.1 93.1 110.2 98.0 97.0
2000 101.8 121.2 81.7 87.6 102.3 88.6 96.8 91.7 82.7 NA 96.9 93.1 107.5 98.0 93.8
2001 97.6 120.7 79.6 88.3 97.7 88.7 96.2 92.8 83.0 NA 97.1 93.0 105.8 97.0 89.8
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 24 -
Table 6. Average annual hours in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 101.4 108.8 NA NA NA NA 140.7 120.7 NA 146.0 105.1 130.2 130.8 129.9 122.8
1955 101.5 104.8 119.3 NA NA NA 138.2 120.0 NA 146.1 107.8 130.5 131.1 129.0 124.4
1960 99.5 104.1 123.9 NA NA 125.8 131.2 120.6 NA 131.7 109.0 131.8 126.0 122.1 121.8
1961 99.6 103.6 122.0 NA NA 125.5 127.3 121.1 NA 129.4 107.8 126.3 124.1 121.1 120.2
1962 100.6 104.4 119.5 NA NA 125.8 128.3 120.9 NA 126.0 104.4 125.4 123.7 120.1 119.0
1963 100.9 104.7 118.6 NA NA 125.7 126.3 121.0 NA 124.4 104.9 125.0 123.1 118.8 118.9
1964 101.6 105.1 117.9 NA NA 125.3 127.4 120.3 NA 124.3 104.9 123.9 123.9 117.5 119.8
1965 102.7 105.2 115.9 NA NA 123.2 127.2 119.2 NA 123.9 101.4 123.5 121.1 116.6 118.1
1966 103.0 104.4 116.5 NA NA 122.2 124.8 119.8 NA 122.3 102.6 122.8 121.4 116.4 116.1
1967 101.2 104.5 116.7 NA NA 120.7 123.4 118.6 NA 119.0 104.0 122.3 120.2 114.5 115.2
1968 101.0 104.2 116.4 NA NA 120.7 120.6 115.3 NA 120.4 104.0 120.1 117.4 112.2 116.2
1969 100.2 103.9 114.8 NA NA 119.5 119.1 118.1 NA 120.6 103.3 118.4 114.7 110.2 116.2
1970 98.2 103.2 113.6 NA NA 116.3 115.3 116.7 NA 119.9 101.4 116.2 113.8 110.0 114.4
1971 98.4 102.8 111.8 NA NA 114.6 114.9 115.8 NA 117.3 98.6 115.1 112.7 109.7 111.7
1972 100.0 102.9 111.1 NA NA 112.0 112.4 114.6 NA 116.2 97.9 113.5 111.0 106.8 110.6
1973 99.9 102.1 110.1 NA 111.7 109.3 106.4 112.8 NA 115.2 99.1 111.3 110.3 104.9 112.1
1974 98.0 101.5 105.6 NA 107.3 106.4 108.5 111.3 NA 112.9 95.6 107.9 108.8 103.8 108.4
1975 96.6 100.2 103.2 NA 109.9 100.7 105.1 108.1 NA 110.1 94.0 105.9 108.1 101.8 108.1
1976 97.7 100.3 106.2 NA 110.5 102.6 105.6 108.4 NA 113.2 94.0 105.7 105.3 100.6 109.0
1977 98.1 100.3 106.5 NA 110.4 102.1 104.6 107.5 NA 111.5 93.5 105.2 103.5 99.8 109.8
1978 98.1 101.0 106.9 NA 109.6 101.9 103.4 106.5 NA 110.1 93.3 104.2 101.6 97.2 109.3
1979 97.5 100.5 107.6 NA 109.0 102.0 103.3 106.5 NA 109.7 92.6 103.0 99.8 95.8 108.9
1980 96.3 99.6 107.6 NA 109.3 100.4 104.0 106.4 NA 108.1 92.8 103.6 100.4 94.8 105.7
1981 96.4 98.7 106.8 NA 104.1 98.1 102.7 104.9 NA 106.8 92.8 104.1 100.5 95.3 103.8
1982 94.6 97.8 106.5 NA 103.9 100.2 104.2 100.8 NA 106.2 92.6 105.2 99.6 95.7 104.4
1983 97.2 99.1 106.6 NA 103.9 97.7 105.6 100.3 NA 106.4 92.6 105.3 100.1 96.9 104.2
1984 98.6 99.0 107.7 NA 104.8 97.1 105.3 100.4 NA 106.4 92.6 103.8 99.9 98.6 104.4
1985 98.7 99.6 107.3 110.6 101.7 98.5 101.8 99.8 NA 104.5 91.8 101.2 99.5 97.9 103.8
1986 98.6 100.1 106.7 112.6 103.5 98.6 104.2 100.0 NA 103.9 94.5 100.7 99.6 97.5 103.4
1987 99.1 100.9 107.2 110.7 103.6 99.4 101.8 100.7 NA 103.6 97.3 100.2 97.2 98.7 103.6
1988 100.0 103.0 108.3 108.0 102.3 101.1 101.8 101.2 NA 103.2 98.0 101.0 98.0 98.5 103.8
1989 100.0 100.7 107.1 103.9 100.8 100.6 100.6 101.0 NA 101.7 99.2 100.4 98.5 98.2 103.2
1990 99.4 100.2 105.6 102.3 99.9 101.8 99.4 100.5 NA 99.8 99.2 100.4 98.3 99.3 102.3
1991 98.7 99.8 103.2 101.4 100.0 100.0 99.7 99.5 96.3 99.1 100.1 100.1 98.9 99.2 100.1
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 101.3 101.0 97.9 100.2 100.0 98.5 99.2 99.9 97.6 97.0 98.4 99.9 100.3 102.6 101.0
1994 102.2 102.0 98.1 100.8 100.2 101.2 NA 99.9 98.4 97.1 101.9 100.0 100.5 107.3 102.3
1995 101.5 101.6 98.9 101.0 99.9 100.1 NA 99.3 98.4 96.5 103.8 100.2 99.6 108.0 104.0
1996 101.5 102.3 99.4 99.4 99.7 100.5 NA 99.4 96.2 95.0 102.5 100.1 99.0 107.8 104.5
1997 102.2 102.2 98.8 98.0 100.0 100.6 NA 99.1 96.3 95.2 103.9 99.7 98.9 107.5 104.1
1998 101.2 102.7 96.8 94.1 98.1 100.8 NA 98.9 96.6 96.2 103.2 99.5 99.2 107.6 103.3
1999 102.0 103.8 96.7 101.7 98.7 103.3 NA 98.4 96.2 NA 103.6 99.5 99.5 108.2 102.9
2000 101.0 103.6 98.3 100.3 98.5 103.4 NA 95.0 95.3 NA 104.0 99.4 98.1 107.7 102.7
2001 99.4 102.6 97.6 98.0 91.5 102.2 NA 92.9 94.2 NA 102.7 99.3 97.7 106.2 103.3
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 25 -
Table 7. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 8.7 5.4 NA NA NA NA 2.1 1.6 NA 3.4 0.9 3.0 2.2 1.9 1.5
1955 11.7 7.7 3.1 NA NA NA 2.8 2.9 NA 5.0 1.4 4.4 3.4 2.9 2.2
1960 14.9 10.0 4.3 NA NA 5.4 3.8 4.3 NA 8.1 1.8 6.2 4.7 4.1 3.0
1961 15.3 10.2 5.0 NA NA 5.7 4.3 4.8 NA 9.1 2.0 7.0 5.2 4.5 3.2
1962 15.9 10.6 5.7 NA NA 6.2 4.7 5.3 NA 10.3 2.3 7.5 5.7 5.0 3.3
1963 16.4 11.1 6.4 NA NA 6.8 5.1 5.8 NA 11.0 2.8 8.3 6.1 5.5 3.5
1964 17.0 11.5 7.2 NA NA 7.7 5.5 6.3 NA 11.9 2.9 9.6 6.5 6.0 3.7
1965 17.4 12.2 8.1 NA NA 8.5 6.2 6.8 NA 13.1 3.1 10.7 7.2 6.6 4.0
1966 18.2 13.1 8.9 NA NA 9.4 7.0 7.2 NA 14.2 3.3 12.0 7.8 7.3 4.4
1967 19.2 13.8 10.0 NA NA 10.3 7.8 7.7 NA 15.0 3.7 13.3 8.7 8.1 4.5
1968 20.7 14.7 11.7 NA NA 11.0 8.6 8.8 NA 16.1 3.9 14.8 9.6 8.7 4.8
1969 22.2 15.9 13.8 NA NA 12.1 9.7 9.3 NA 17.6 4.3 16.8 10.6 9.6 5.3
1970 23.7 17.1 16.4 NA NA 13.7 11.1 10.5 NA 20.7 5.3 19.5 11.8 10.7 6.1
1971 25.2 18.2 19.0 NA NA 15.9 12.8 11.8 NA 23.2 6.1 22.3 13.5 12.1 6.9
1972 26.5 19.5 21.9 NA NA 18.8 14.3 13.0 NA 25.6 6.7 25.6 15.2 13.5 8.0
1973 28.5 21.2 26.7 NA 9.5 22.3 17.5 14.9 NA 29.0 7.9 30.5 17.1 15.2 9.1
1974 31.6 24.6 35.1 NA 13.9 27.4 21.4 17.7 NA 33.0 10.3 36.4 20.1 17.9 11.0
1975 35.5 28.3 40.8 NA 14.9 33.1 25.7 21.6 NA 36.4 12.7 41.6 24.0 21.9 14.6
1976 38.4 32.5 44.0 NA 16.7 38.3 28.9 24.8 NA 39.1 15.8 46.5 27.7 25.7 16.9
1977 41.8 36.1 48.5 NA 18.2 41.4 32.2 28.1 NA 42.8 18.9 50.6 31.1 28.1 19.1
1978 45.2 38.8 51.7 NA 20.5 44.4 35.8 31.7 NA 45.9 21.5 54.8 34.1 31.1 22.3
1979 49.6 42.7 55.0 NA 24.3 47.2 40.4 35.9 NA 49.3 26.0 58.9 35.8 33.5 26.5
1980 55.6 47.6 58.5 NA 29.6 52.5 45.0 41.3 NA 53.6 30.4 62.1 39.0 37.3 32.1
1981 61.1 53.8 62.7 NA 38.0 57.3 50.0 48.0 NA 57.0 36.2 65.0 43.3 41.2 37.4
1982 67.0 61.0 65.8 NA 41.5 59.9 54.9 56.7 NA 60.4 42.2 69.0 48.2 44.2 41.2
1983 68.8 65.3 67.5 NA 43.3 65.7 59.4 62.6 NA 63.1 48.6 72.2 52.9 49.1 44.4
1984 71.2 69.0 69.6 NA 46.2 71.4 63.6 68.0 NA 66.0 55.7 74.9 57.9 53.2 48.1
1985 75.1 71.9 72.4 33.1 49.5 75.3 68.8 73.6 NA 70.0 63.1 78.9 63.4 58.6 52.9
1986 78.5 73.0 76.1 35.2 55.7 77.3 71.1 76.6 NA 72.8 65.9 82.0 69.1 63.4 57.6
1987 80.7 74.7 77.8 40.3 60.9 79.7 78.4 79.3 NA 76.0 69.4 84.7 78.4 67.7 64.3
1988 84.0 77.5 79.2 50.0 65.6 81.1 82.9 81.9 NA 79.1 74.6 85.3 83.3 71.8 68.7
1989 86.6 82.6 84.1 57.6 74.3 85.9 87.7 86.1 NA 83.2 80.9 86.8 87.2 79.4 73.8
1990 90.8 88.3 90.6 68.5 85.3 90.1 92.7 90.9 NA 89.4 87.6 89.8 92.3 87.8 82.9
1991 95.6 95.0 96.5 86.1 93.5 97.3 96.0 96.4 91.5 95.1 94.2 94.8 97.5 95.5 93.8
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 102.7 102.0 102.7 114.0 106.0 104.8 103.0 102.6 106.4 105.9 105.7 104.5 101.5 97.4 104.6
1994 105.6 103.7 104.7 129.5 111.1 106.1 NA 106.0 111.8 111.7 106.8 109.0 104.4 99.8 106.8
1995 107.9 106.0 108.3 158.1 120.3 109.2 NA 110.0 117.6 117.7 111.3 112.1 109.2 106.8 107.9
1996 109.4 107.0 109.1 184.1 128.2 111.0 NA 112.1 123.3 123.7 119.0 114.4 113.6 115.2 109.5
1997 111.5 109.3 112.6 197.7 132.3 115.2 NA 112.0 125.7 126.6 123.0 117.2 118.7 121.0 113.6
1998 117.4 110.5 115.4 214.8 140.2 116.9 NA 112.6 127.6 127.6 122.2 122.0 125.7 125.6 120.6
1999 122.1 112.3 114.8 211.1 144.0 118.4 NA 116.3 130.6 NA 124.6 126.0 133.0 130.3 127.3
2000 131.1 113.9 113.7 221.1 146.2 120.5 NA 120.8 137.2 NA 127.8 132.1 140.0 135.3 134.9
2001 133.1 117.8 114.5 240.2 149.4 126.7 NA 126.9 141.4 NA 132.6 138.5 147.6 139.8 139.5
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 26 -
Table 8. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 8.7 6.0 NA NA NA NA 1.8 2.5 NA 1.3 1.9 1.4 1.9 2.1 2.5
1955 11.7 9.5 1.1 NA NA NA 2.5 4.3 NA 1.9 2.7 2.0 2.9 3.3 3.5
1960 14.9 12.4 1.5 NA NA 3.5 3.4 4.7 NA 3.0 3.5 2.9 4.1 4.6 4.7
1961 15.3 12.2 1.8 NA NA 3.7 3.8 5.1 NA 3.5 3.9 3.4 4.5 5.0 5.0
1962 15.9 12.0 2.0 NA NA 4.0 4.1 5.7 NA 4.0 4.6 3.7 5.0 5.6 5.3
1963 16.4 12.4 2.2 NA NA 4.4 4.5 6.2 NA 4.3 5.5 4.0 5.3 6.2 5.5
1964 17.0 12.9 2.5 NA NA 5.0 4.8 6.8 NA 4.7 5.8 4.7 5.6 6.8 5.8
1965 17.4 13.7 2.8 NA NA 5.5 5.4 7.3 NA 5.1 6.2 5.2 6.2 7.5 6.4
1966 18.2 14.7 3.1 NA NA 6.1 6.1 7.7 NA 5.5 6.6 5.8 6.8 8.2 6.9
1967 19.2 15.4 3.5 NA NA 6.7 6.8 8.3 NA 5.9 7.3 6.5 7.6 9.1 7.0
1968 20.7 16.5 4.1 NA NA 7.1 7.0 9.4 NA 6.3 7.8 7.2 8.4 9.9 6.6
1969 22.2 17.9 4.9 NA NA 7.7 7.8 9.5 NA 7.0 8.5 8.2 9.3 10.8 7.1
1970 23.7 19.8 5.8 NA NA 8.9 8.9 10.0 NA 8.9 10.3 9.5 10.3 12.0 8.3
1971 25.2 21.7 6.9 NA NA 10.5 10.4 11.3 NA 10.4 12.1 11.2 11.9 13.8 9.6
1972 26.5 23.8 9.2 NA NA 13.7 12.4 13.6 NA 12.6 14.1 14.0 14.3 16.5 11.4
1973 28.5 25.6 12.5 NA 6.3 18.5 17.6 17.8 NA 17.1 16.7 19.3 18.5 20.3 12.7
1974 31.6 30.5 15.2 NA 9.2 22.6 21.2 19.5 NA 19.9 19.4 23.9 22.6 23.5 14.6
1975 35.5 33.7 17.5 NA 9.9 29.0 27.0 26.7 NA 23.1 23.9 29.0 28.6 30.8 18.4
1976 38.4 39.9 18.8 NA 11.0 31.9 28.9 27.4 NA 24.3 23.5 30.9 31.6 34.3 17.3
1977 41.8 41.1 23.0 NA 12.1 37.1 32.4 30.3 NA 28.8 26.4 36.3 36.3 36.7 18.9
1978 45.2 41.2 31.5 NA 13.9 45.4 39.3 37.3 NA 35.8 31.2 44.6 40.4 40.2 24.2
1979 49.6 44.0 32.0 NA 16.9 51.7 46.4 44.6 NA 42.0 38.6 51.6 43.9 45.5 31.9
1980 55.6 49.1 32.8 NA 20.7 57.7 48.2 51.7 NA 46.1 43.8 55.0 49.0 51.4 42.2
1981 61.1 54.2 36.0 NA 26.0 49.5 42.3 46.7 NA 39.3 39.1 45.8 46.9 47.3 42.8
1982 67.0 59.7 33.5 NA 26.7 42.1 39.7 45.6 NA 38.8 38.4 45.4 46.4 41.0 40.8
1983 68.8 64.0 36.0 NA 27.2 41.3 39.2 43.5 NA 38.6 39.4 44.5 45.0 37.2 38.1
1984 71.2 64.4 37.1 NA 29.3 39.7 37.1 41.2 NA 36.3 39.1 41.1 44.1 37.5 36.4
1985 75.1 63.6 38.5 30.2 31.2 40.8 39.2 43.4 NA 37.2 40.7 41.8 45.8 39.7 38.9
1986 78.5 63.5 57.3 31.2 37.0 55.6 53.0 58.5 NA 52.4 54.4 58.9 58.0 51.8 47.9
1987 80.7 68.1 68.2 38.3 48.3 68.6 69.2 69.8 NA 66.0 66.0 73.6 72.3 62.1 59.7
1988 84.0 76.2 78.3 53.5 57.7 70.9 74.3 72.8 NA 70.4 70.6 75.9 79.3 68.2 69.3
1989 86.6 84.3 77.2 67.0 70.8 70.1 72.3 71.4 NA 69.1 72.7 71.9 78.4 71.6 68.4
1990 90.8 91.5 79.2 75.6 79.7 86.6 90.4 88.3 NA 86.4 90.1 86.7 91.7 86.4 83.7
1991 95.6 100.1 90.9 91.7 87.9 91.5 90.5 90.4 86.1 89.4 93.5 89.1 93.3 91.9 93.9
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 102.7 95.5 117.2 111.0 100.9 97.4 95.9 95.8 100.4 100.0 82.8 98.9 88.8 72.8 89.0
1994 105.6 91.7 129.9 126.0 105.6 102.1 NA 101.1 107.6 107.6 81.7 105.4 91.9 75.3 92.6
1995 107.9 93.3 146.1 160.5 114.2 119.1 NA 116.8 128.3 128.3 84.2 122.8 107.1 87.1 96.4
1996 109.4 94.8 127.2 179.4 117.4 115.3 NA 116.0 128.0 128.4 95.0 119.3 109.3 100.1 96.7
1997 111.5 95.3 117.9 163.7 115.6 103.4 NA 101.5 113.2 114.0 88.9 105.6 104.1 92.2 105.4
1998 117.4 90.0 111.7 120.4 105.1 103.5 NA 101.0 113.3 113.3 86.7 108.2 103.4 92.0 113.1
1999 122.1 91.4 128.0 139.2 112.1 100.5 NA 100.0 111.1 NA 84.5 107.1 105.9 91.7 116.6
2000 131.1 92.6 133.7 153.4 117.7 88.6 NA 90.0 101.1 NA 75.1 97.3 98.7 85.9 115.7
2001 133.1 91.9 119.4 145.9 111.1 90.4 NA 91.6 101.1 NA 75.6 98.9 102.0 78.8 113.7
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.
* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees, but are labor
costs to employers.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 27 -
Table 9. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 NA 20.9 NA NA NA NA 9.8 13.4 NA 25.5 7.0 27.0 8.9 9.5 6.3
1955 NA 24.2 36.5 NA NA NA 12.2 18.8 NA 25.4 7.2 30.8 11.6 13.8 8.3
1960 NA 26.4 31.3 NA NA 30.1 13.6 21.7 NA 27.8 7.5 33.7 12.7 15.0 9.8
1961 NA 25.7 32.1 NA NA 31.5 14.5 22.6 NA 29.7 7.7 36.4 13.4 15.6 10.5
1962 NA 24.8 35.0 NA NA 32.1 15.1 23.4 NA 31.5 8.2 37.5 14.7 16.2 10.8
1963 NA 24.9 36.1 NA NA 34.2 15.9 24.2 NA 32.2 9.5 39.7 14.9 16.9 10.7
1964 NA 24.9 35.8 NA NA 36.3 15.9 24.5 NA 32.1 10.0 42.1 15.1 16.9 10.7
1965 NA 25.1 38.7 NA NA 38.3 16.8 24.8 NA 33.3 9.6 44.3 15.7 17.4 11.4
1966 NA 26.5 38.9 NA NA 39.6 18.2 24.3 NA 34.7 9.4 46.5 16.5 18.2 11.9
1967 NA 27.6 38.5 NA NA 40.9 18.9 24.6 NA 34.5 9.9 47.9 17.8 18.6 11.8
1968 NA 27.9 40.0 NA NA 40.3 19.4 25.2 NA 34.3 9.8 47.5 18.5 18.5 11.7
1969 NA 28.8 41.4 NA NA 40.4 20.8 25.3 NA 35.0 10.4 49.1 18.6 18.8 12.5
1970 NA 31.1 43.8 NA 23.8 41.7 22.4 26.8 NA 39.8 11.9 51.9 20.1 20.6 14.1
1971 NA 31.2 47.8 NA 24.8 45.2 24.2 28.5 NA 42.9 13.5 56.1 22.3 22.2 15.3
1972 NA 31.8 50.2 NA 24.9 47.9 24.9 30.0 NA 44.7 13.9 59.6 23.8 23.6 16.8
1973 NA 32.6 56.2 NA 28.8 51.2 27.6 32.2 NA 47.5 15.1 64.1 25.3 24.8 17.8
1974 NA 37.2 71.9 NA 43.5 59.9 32.8 37.4 NA 52.1 18.6 71.3 28.6 27.9 21.0
1975 NA 44.7 81.4 NA 44.2 69.5 36.3 44.1 NA 55.2 24.2 82.7 34.5 33.7 28.6
1976 NA 47.3 82.7 NA 45.5 73.1 38.8 47.6 NA 55.4 26.4 83.2 39.0 38.9 31.8
1977 61.2 49.9 87.7 NA 47.3 75.3 41.7 51.1 NA 58.8 30.7 83.9 43.1 43.3 35.6
1978 65.3 52.6 89.9 NA 47.4 76.1 45.0 55.1 NA 61.1 33.1 85.2 46.4 46.6 40.9
1979 70.7 57.8 88.4 NA 53.8 76.8 48.5 60.2 NA 62.9 36.6 87.4 45.4 46.6 48.3
1980 78.8 65.2 92.6 NA 62.2 80.3 52.2 67.0 NA 69.4 41.0 91.2 50.3 51.0 59.0
1981 82.4 70.4 96.0 NA 72.1 81.7 57.3 73.5 NA 72.4 49.0 93.4 56.1 56.6 65.5
1982 87.9 79.1 96.8 NA 76.8 81.5 62.1 81.2 NA 76.7 57.0 97.4 59.9 58.7 68.5
1983 86.0 79.7 98.1 NA 75.2 81.1 63.5 85.1 NA 76.4 64.2 94.4 63.6 60.7 68.2
1984 85.6 77.8 97.8 NA 78.1 84.0 67.4 89.6 NA 77.3 67.9 89.2 65.6 62.5 70.3
1985 87.3 78.9 94.7 60.4 81.3 86.5 71.7 91.9 NA 78.6 72.2 90.1 69.6 68.0 74.4
1986 91.2 83.3 99.9 59.8 83.5 88.0 77.4 92.6 NA 81.2 74.9 91.9 76.9 72.5 77.9
1987 86.9 85.1 97.0 63.8 83.7 89.7 85.7 94.2 NA 86.3 77.8 94.1 83.2 75.8 82.4
1988 86.7 86.6 94.3 72.8 85.9 88.1 88.1 92.5 NA 86.5 79.4 92.7 89.5 79.4 83.2
1989 90.5 89.3 94.9 78.7 89.5 88.7 87.5 93.2 NA 87.9 84.8 90.5 91.3 85.1 85.6
1990 93.7 94.6 95.9 84.2 95.9 93.0 93.5 96.9 NA 90.3 91.5 91.4 94.6 92.9 92.9
1991 97.6 99.6 97.4 94.1 96.8 98.1 96.5 99.3 93.1 93.3 98.2 95.8 99.2 100.0 100.1
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.6 96.4 101.0 105.4 103.0 102.3 103.7 101.9 104.5 105.3 104.3 102.0 101.9 90.8 100.7
1994 98.5 93.6 101.4 109.8 104.1 97.9 96.2 97.9 102.0 103.6 101.9 96.1 104.8 84.7 99.7
1995 94.8 94.3 97.6 122.4 104.5 96.4 96.4 96.6 104.7 105.9 103.0 95.3 108.4 85.8 102.9
1996 93.5 97.5 94.0 129.1 104.1 94.7 103.2 97.8 107.5 107.5 110.0 95.6 110.8 89.0 105.5
1997 91.9 96.2 93.0 121.0 102.3 90.7 99.4 91.9 104.5 103.9 111.9 96.3 116.4 85.8 108.2
1998 92.8 97.7 95.2 117.4 103.2 90.4 102.8 88.2 104.6 100.4 111.1 98.1 125.7 84.0 112.8
1999 91.3 96.8 90.6 104.4 100.7 91.9 103.7 87.7 107.6 NA 113.4 98.9 128.4 80.1 114.4
2000 92.3 96.1 83.6 101.2 97.1 90.4 103.2 84.8 108.3 NA 113.1 98.6 134.0 74.7 114.5
2001 94.1 101.5 85.6 106.5 93.3 93.9 101.7 86.6 110.1 NA 115.3 103.0 140.1 77.2 117.0
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 28 -
Table 10. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 NA 23.1 NA NA NA NA 8.5 20.3 NA 9.5 13.8 12.5 7.7 10.7 10.0
1955 NA 29.7 12.8 NA NA NA 10.7 28.4 NA 9.4 14.1 14.2 10.1 15.5 13.2
1960 NA 32.9 11.0 NA NA 19.4 12.0 23.4 NA 10.4 15.0 15.7 11.1 16.9 15.6
1961 NA 30.6 11.3 NA NA 20.3 12.7 24.3 NA 11.6 15.3 17.6 11.7 17.6 16.7
1962 NA 28.1 12.3 NA NA 20.7 13.2 25.3 NA 12.3 16.3 18.3 12.8 18.3 17.2
1963 NA 27.8 12.7 NA NA 22.0 13.9 26.2 NA 12.6 18.8 19.4 13.0 18.9 17.0
1964 NA 27.9 12.5 NA NA 23.5 13.9 26.4 NA 12.6 19.8 20.5 13.1 19.1 16.9
1965 NA 28.2 13.6 NA NA 24.8 14.7 26.8 NA 13.0 19.0 21.6 13.7 19.6 18.0
1966 NA 29.7 13.6 NA NA 25.6 15.9 26.2 NA 13.6 18.6 22.6 14.3 20.6 18.9
1967 NA 30.9 13.5 NA NA 26.5 16.3 26.5 NA 13.5 19.6 23.4 15.5 21.0 18.3
1968 NA 31.3 14.1 NA NA 25.9 15.7 27.0 NA 13.4 19.4 23.1 16.1 20.9 15.9
1969 NA 32.3 14.6 NA NA 25.9 16.7 25.8 NA 13.9 20.4 23.8 16.2 21.1 16.9
1970 NA 36.0 15.5 NA 14.9 27.0 18.0 25.7 NA 17.1 23.3 25.3 17.5 23.1 19.1
1971 NA 37.3 17.4 NA 15.6 29.9 19.8 27.3 NA 19.3 26.9 28.3 19.7 25.3 21.2
1972 NA 38.8 21.0 NA 15.7 35.0 21.6 31.5 NA 21.9 29.4 32.7 22.5 28.9 23.7
1973 NA 39.3 26.3 NA 18.9 42.4 27.7 38.4 NA 28.0 32.0 40.6 27.4 33.1 24.7
1974 NA 46.0 31.3 NA 28.8 49.5 32.5 41.2 NA 31.5 35.2 46.8 32.2 36.7 27.9
1975 NA 53.1 34.8 NA 29.3 60.9 38.2 54.5 NA 35.1 45.7 57.6 41.1 47.4 36.0
1976 NA 58.0 35.4 NA 30.1 60.9 38.8 52.8 NA 34.4 39.2 55.4 44.4 52.0 32.5
1977 61.2 56.7 41.5 NA 31.3 67.6 42.0 55.0 NA 39.6 42.8 60.2 50.3 56.4 35.1
1978 65.3 55.8 54.7 NA 32.2 77.8 49.3 64.9 NA 47.6 48.1 69.4 55.0 60.1 44.4
1979 70.7 59.6 51.4 NA 37.5 84.2 55.7 74.9 NA 53.6 54.3 76.6 55.7 63.3 58.0
1980 78.8 67.4 51.8 NA 43.4 88.3 55.9 83.9 NA 59.6 59.0 80.7 63.3 70.2 77.7
1981 82.4 70.9 55.2 NA 49.2 70.6 48.4 71.6 NA 49.9 53.1 65.7 60.7 65.1 75.0
1982 87.9 77.5 49.3 NA 49.4 57.2 44.9 65.3 NA 49.3 51.9 64.1 57.7 54.4 67.8
1983 86.0 78.1 52.4 NA 47.2 51.0 41.9 59.1 NA 46.7 52.1 58.2 54.1 46.1 58.6
1984 85.6 72.5 52.2 NA 49.6 46.8 39.3 54.3 NA 42.4 47.7 48.9 50.0 44.0 53.2
1985 87.3 69.8 50.3 55.0 51.3 46.9 40.9 54.2 NA 41.7 46.6 47.8 50.3 46.1 54.7
1986 91.2 72.4 75.3 53.0 55.6 63.4 57.7 70.8 NA 58.5 61.9 66.0 64.6 59.2 64.8
1987 86.9 77.6 85.1 60.6 66.3 77.2 75.5 82.9 NA 74.9 73.9 81.7 76.7 69.6 76.5
1988 86.7 85.0 93.3 77.8 75.5 77.0 78.9 82.2 NA 76.9 75.2 82.4 85.2 75.4 83.9
1989 90.5 91.1 87.2 91.6 85.2 72.3 72.1 77.3 NA 73.0 76.1 75.0 82.1 76.8 79.4
1990 93.7 98.0 83.9 93.0 89.7 89.5 91.2 94.1 NA 87.3 94.1 88.3 94.0 91.3 93.9
1991 97.6 105.1 91.8 100.3 91.1 92.3 91.0 93.1 87.5 87.8 97.5 90.0 95.0 96.3 100.1
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.6 90.3 115.3 102.7 98.1 95.1 96.5 95.2 98.7 99.4 81.6 96.5 89.2 67.8 85.6
1994 98.5 82.8 125.8 106.8 99.0 94.2 91.4 93.4 98.2 99.8 77.9 92.9 92.3 64.0 86.4
1995 94.8 83.0 131.6 124.3 99.2 105.2 104.0 102.5 114.2 115.5 77.9 104.4 106.4 70.0 91.9
1996 93.5 86.4 109.5 125.9 95.4 98.3 107.5 101.2 111.6 111.6 87.9 99.7 106.6 77.3 93.2
1997 91.9 84.0 97.4 100.2 89.5 81.4 90.8 83.3 94.0 93.5 80.9 86.7 102.1 65.4 100.4
1998 92.8 79.6 92.2 65.8 77.4 80.0 92.6 79.1 92.9 89.1 78.8 86.9 103.5 61.5 105.9
1999 91.3 78.8 101.0 68.8 78.3 78.0 89.5 75.4 91.6 NA 76.9 84.0 102.2 56.4 104.8
2000 92.3 78.2 98.4 70.2 78.1 66.5 76.9 63.2 79.8 NA 66.4 72.6 94.5 47.5 98.3
2001 94.1 79.2 89.3 64.7 69.4 67.0 73.7 62.6 78.7 NA 65.7 73.6 96.8 43.5 95.3
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 29 -
Table 11. Exchange rates, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001 (Value of foreign currency relative to U.S. dollar)
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 100.0 110.5 35.2 NA NA NA 87.5 151.3 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 NA 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 94.0 99.3 93.9 95.7 96.3 100.1
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.0 93.7 114.1 97.4 95.2 93.0 93.1 93.4 94.4 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 96.3 76.5 96.7 88.1 75.5 86.7
1995 100.0 88.1 134.9 101.5 95.0 109.1 107.8 106.2 109.1 109.1 75.6 109.6 98.1 81.6 89.4
1996 100.0 88.6 116.5 97.5 91.6 103.8 104.1 103.5 103.8 103.8 79.9 104.3 96.2 86.8 88.4
1997 100.0 87.3 104.7 82.8 87.4 89.8 91.3 90.7 90.0 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 88.8 70.9 88.7 82.3 73.3 93.8
1999 100.0 81.3 111.5 65.9 77.8 84.9 86.4 86.0 85.1 85.1 67.8 85.0 79.6 70.4 91.6
2000 100.0 81.4 117.6 69.4 80.5 73.6 74.6 74.5 73.7 NA 58.7 73.7 70.5 63.5 85.8
2001 100.0 78.0 104.3 60.7 74.4 71.3 72.5 72.2 71.5 NA 57.0 71.4 69.1 56.3 81.5
NA: Not Available
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 30 -
Table 12. Average annual compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 8.8 5.9 NA NA NA NA 2.9 2.0 NA 4.9 1.0 3.9 2.9 2.4 1.9
1955 11.8 8.1 3.8 NA NA NA 3.9 3.4 NA 7.3 1.5 5.7 4.4 3.8 2.7
1960 14.8 10.4 5.3 NA NA 6.8 5.0 5.2 NA 10.7 1.9 8.1 6.0 5.0 3.6
1961 15.2 10.6 6.1 NA NA 7.2 5.5 5.8 NA 11.8 2.1 8.9 6.4 5.4 3.8
1962 16.0 11.1 6.9 NA NA 7.8 6.1 6.4 NA 13.0 2.4 9.4 7.0 6.0 3.9
1963 16.5 11.6 7.6 NA NA 8.6 6.5 7.0 NA 13.7 2.9 10.3 7.5 6.6 4.1
1964 17.3 12.1 8.5 NA NA 9.6 7.1 7.5 NA 14.8 3.1 11.9 8.0 7.1 4.4
1965 17.9 12.8 9.4 NA NA 10.5 7.8 8.1 NA 16.2 3.2 13.3 8.7 7.7 4.8
1966 18.8 13.7 10.4 NA NA 11.5 8.7 8.6 NA 17.4 3.4 14.8 9.5 8.5 5.1
1967 19.4 14.4 11.7 NA NA 12.4 9.7 9.2 NA 17.8 3.8 16.3 10.5 9.2 5.2
1968 20.9 15.4 13.6 NA NA 13.3 10.4 10.1 NA 19.4 4.1 17.8 11.3 9.8 5.6
1969 22.2 16.5 15.9 NA NA 14.4 11.6 11.0 NA 21.3 4.5 19.9 12.2 10.5 6.1
1970 23.3 17.6 18.7 NA NA 16.0 12.7 12.2 NA 24.8 5.3 22.6 13.4 11.8 7.0
1971 24.8 18.7 21.3 NA NA 18.2 14.7 13.6 NA 27.2 6.0 25.6 15.2 13.3 7.8
1972 26.5 20.1 24.3 NA NA 21.0 16.1 14.9 NA 29.8 6.5 29.0 16.8 14.4 8.9
1973 28.5 21.7 29.5 NA 10.6 24.3 18.7 16.8 NA 33.4 7.8 33.9 18.9 16.0 10.2
1974 31.0 25.0 37.0 NA 15.0 29.2 23.2 19.7 NA 37.2 9.8 39.3 21.8 18.6 11.9
1975 34.3 28.4 42.1 NA 16.4 33.3 27.0 23.3 NA 40.0 11.9 44.1 25.9 22.3 15.8
1976 37.6 32.7 46.7 NA 18.4 39.3 30.5 26.8 NA 44.3 14.9 49.1 29.2 25.8 18.5
1977 41.0 36.2 51.7 NA 20.1 42.3 33.7 30.2 NA 47.7 17.7 53.3 32.2 28.1 21.0
1978 44.3 39.2 55.3 NA 22.5 45.2 37.0 33.8 NA 50.6 20.1 57.1 34.6 30.3 24.4
1979 48.4 42.9 59.2 NA 26.5 48.1 41.8 38.2 NA 54.1 24.1 60.7 35.7 32.1 28.9
1980 53.5 47.3 63.0 NA 32.4 52.7 46.8 43.9 NA 57.9 28.2 64.4 39.1 35.3 33.9
1981 58.8 53.1 66.9 NA 39.6 56.1 51.3 50.3 NA 60.9 33.6 67.7 43.5 39.2 38.8
1982 63.3 59.7 70.0 NA 43.1 60.0 57.2 57.2 NA 64.1 39.0 72.6 48.0 42.3 43.0
1983 66.9 64.7 72.0 NA 44.9 64.2 62.7 62.8 NA 67.2 45.0 76.1 53.0 47.5 46.2
1984 70.2 68.3 74.9 NA 48.4 69.3 67.0 68.3 NA 70.3 51.5 77.8 57.9 52.5 50.2
1985 74.1 71.6 77.7 36.7 50.4 74.1 70.0 73.4 NA 73.1 57.9 79.9 63.1 57.4 55.0
1986 77.4 73.0 81.2 39.6 57.6 76.2 74.0 76.6 NA 75.6 62.3 82.7 68.8 61.8 59.6
1987 80.0 75.4 83.4 44.6 63.1 79.2 79.8 79.8 NA 78.8 67.6 84.9 76.2 66.8 66.6
1988 84.0 79.9 85.7 54.0 67.1 81.9 84.4 82.9 NA 81.7 73.1 86.1 81.6 70.7 71.4
1989 86.7 83.2 90.0 59.9 75.0 86.4 88.2 87.0 NA 84.6 80.3 87.1 85.9 77.9 76.2
1990 90.2 88.5 95.6 70.0 85.2 91.7 92.1 91.3 NA 89.2 86.9 90.2 90.8 87.2 84.8
1991 94.3 94.8 99.6 87.3 93.5 97.3 95.6 95.9 88.2 94.3 94.3 94.9 96.4 94.7 93.9
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 104.1 103.0 100.6 114.2 106.0 103.2 102.2 102.4 103.9 102.8 104.0 104.4 101.8 99.9 105.7
1994 108.0 105.8 102.8 130.6 111.4 107.4 106.0 105.9 109.9 108.5 108.8 109.0 104.9 107.1 109.2
1995 109.5 107.6 107.0 159.7 120.1 109.2 109.7 109.3 115.8 113.6 115.6 112.3 108.7 115.4 112.2
1996 111.0 109.5 108.5 182.9 127.7 111.6 112.1 111.4 118.6 117.6 122.0 114.5 112.5 124.2 114.4
1997 113.9 111.7 111.3 193.8 132.3 115.8 117.4 111.0 121.0 120.5 127.7 116.8 117.3 130.1 118.3
1998 118.8 113.5 111.7 202.2 137.5 117.8 120.8 111.4 123.3 122.8 126.1 121.4 124.6 135.1 124.5
1999 124.5 116.6 111.0 214.6 142.1 122.3 125.1 114.4 125.6 NA 129.0 125.3 132.4 140.9 131.0
2000 132.5 118.0 111.7 221.9 144.1 124.6 129.3 114.8 130.7 NA 132.9 131.3 137.3 145.7 138.5
2001 132.4 120.9 111.7 235.5 136.7 129.6 134.4 117.9 133.1 NA 136.2 137.5 144.2 148.5 144.1
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.
* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees, but are labor
costs to employers.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 31 -
Table 13. Real hourly compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 46.6 37.0 NA NA NA NA 23.9 20.1 NA 11.7 19.1 16.5 26.3 25.3 25.6
1955 56.4 46.5 18.2 NA NA NA 26.6 27.1 NA 15.9 22.3 20.5 29.5 30.5 28.0
1960 65.0 54.6 23.1 NA NA 24.5 32.3 30.6 NA 23.6 26.8 25.5 36.4 35.4 32.8
1961 66.3 55.5 25.6 NA NA 25.7 34.8 32.7 NA 25.8 29.0 28.8 38.7 37.9 34.0
1962 68.1 56.9 27.3 NA NA 27.2 35.5 34.6 NA 28.4 32.7 30.0 40.4 40.4 34.2
1963 69.3 58.3 28.4 NA NA 29.4 36.6 36.0 NA 29.4 36.1 32.0 42.0 43.4 35.1
1964 71.2 59.6 30.7 NA NA 31.9 38.2 37.8 NA 31.1 36.3 35.0 42.5 45.7 36.2
1965 71.6 61.7 32.1 NA NA 34.0 39.8 40.0 NA 33.1 37.2 37.7 45.0 48.1 37.8
1966 72.8 63.8 33.7 NA NA 36.0 42.4 41.2 NA 34.7 38.7 39.9 47.6 49.5 39.4
1967 74.4 64.9 36.3 NA NA 38.3 44.2 43.2 NA 36.1 41.2 42.8 51.0 52.6 40.4
1968 76.9 66.6 40.1 NA NA 39.8 45.0 47.1 NA 38.3 43.3 45.9 54.3 56.0 41.4
1969 78.2 68.9 45.2 NA NA 42.0 49.0 48.3 NA 41.1 46.3 48.5 58.1 58.9 42.7
1970 79.2 71.5 49.9 NA NA 46.1 52.4 51.7 NA 46.7 53.7 54.1 58.3 61.8 46.1
1971 80.5 73.9 54.3 NA NA 51.0 57.4 55.0 NA 49.8 59.1 57.5 62.9 64.1 47.9
1972 82.0 75.7 59.6 NA NA 57.2 60.2 57.2 NA 52.3 61.5 61.1 65.8 67.5 51.6
1973 83.1 76.6 65.3 NA 32.7 63.5 67.4 61.0 NA 55.4 65.7 67.3 69.0 69.8 53.8
1974 83.1 80.2 69.4 NA 32.5 69.3 71.3 63.7 NA 58.9 71.7 73.2 74.0 74.8 55.7
1975 85.4 83.2 72.4 NA 33.0 74.3 78.1 69.5 NA 61.3 75.7 76.2 79.1 83.6 59.8
1976 87.5 88.8 71.3 NA 36.0 78.8 80.7 72.6 NA 63.1 80.9 78.0 83.9 88.4 59.6
1977 89.3 91.2 72.7 NA 36.8 79.4 81.1 75.4 NA 66.7 82.7 79.9 86.3 86.1 57.9
1978 90.3 89.9 74.4 NA 39.2 81.5 81.8 77.8 NA 69.9 83.9 83.0 87.4 88.9 62.1
1979 90.6 90.6 76.3 NA 42.2 82.9 84.2 79.5 NA 72.2 88.5 85.5 87.6 89.9 65.0
1980 91.4 91.6 75.3 NA 43.3 86.5 83.4 80.6 NA 74.6 85.3 84.3 86.0 87.7 66.7
1981 91.9 92.0 76.8 NA 47.8 87.7 83.0 82.6 NA 74.6 86.1 82.7 84.1 86.3 69.8
1982 95.1 94.1 78.5 NA 50.7 84.4 82.7 87.3 NA 75.0 86.2 83.1 84.1 85.1 70.4
1983 93.9 95.2 79.1 NA 52.1 86.0 83.8 88.0 NA 76.0 86.6 84.6 85.1 84.5 72.5
1984 93.4 96.4 79.7 NA 55.6 87.8 84.4 88.9 NA 77.7 89.6 85.0 87.7 85.2 74.8
1985 95.3 96.6 81.3 50.1 59.8 88.3 87.1 90.7 NA 80.7 93.0 87.6 90.8 87.4 77.5
1986 97.8 94.1 84.9 51.8 66.7 89.6 86.9 91.9 NA 84.1 91.7 90.9 92.4 90.4 81.6
1987 97.3 92.3 86.8 57.5 72.6 90.9 92.2 92.3 NA 87.7 92.2 94.2 96.4 92.4 87.4
1988 97.7 92.1 87.6 66.7 77.2 91.4 93.2 93.0 NA 90.3 94.4 94.0 96.0 94.1 89.1
1989 96.6 93.4 91.0 72.7 83.8 94.0 94.1 94.3 NA 92.3 96.3 94.7 96.1 98.3 88.7
1990 96.4 94.7 95.1 79.6 92.3 95.2 96.9 96.3 NA 96.6 98.0 95.6 97.7 97.6 91.1
1991 98.0 96.3 98.0 91.5 97.7 99.7 98.0 99.0 96.2 99.1 99.1 97.9 99.8 97.3 97.4
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 100.3 100.2 101.4 108.7 102.9 102.0 101.7 100.5 101.8 102.1 101.2 101.8 99.2 95.3 103.0
1994 101.0 101.6 102.7 116.4 103.7 100.9 NA 102.1 104.1 104.8 98.3 103.4 100.6 95.6 102.7
1995 100.7 101.7 106.3 136.0 108.3 102.3 NA 104.2 107.8 108.7 97.4 104.2 102.7 97.8 100.2
1996 99.4 101.1 107.0 150.8 111.9 101.9 NA 104.1 111.4 112.8 100.1 104.3 105.6 104.4 99.3
1997 99.2 101.6 108.4 155.2 114.5 104.0 NA 102.7 111.5 113.3 101.4 104.6 107.5 108.4 99.9
1998 103.0 101.4 110.5 156.8 119.3 104.6 NA 102.6 112.1 113.3 98.8 106.8 111.3 111.7 102.5
1999 104.9 101.3 110.3 152.8 122.4 104.7 NA 105.5 114.0 NA 99.1 107.9 115.2 112.1 106.6
2000 109.0 99.9 109.9 156.5 122.7 103.9 NA 107.7 117.6 NA 99.1 110.3 117.6 119.1 109.7
2001 107.7 100.8 111.5 163.4 125.4 106.7 NA 111.3 118.2 NA 100.1 110.7 120.3 120.4 111.5
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 32 -
Table 14. Real average annual compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden Kingdom
1950 47.3 40.3 NA NA NA NA 33.6 24.3 NA 17.2 20.1 21.5 34.4 32.8 31.5
1955 57.2 48.7 21.7 NA NA NA 36.8 32.6 NA 23.3 24.0 26.7 38.6 39.4 34.8
1960 64.7 56.8 28.6 NA NA 30.8 42.4 36.9 NA 31.0 29.2 33.6 45.8 43.2 40.0
1961 66.0 57.5 31.2 NA NA 32.2 44.3 39.7 NA 33.4 31.3 36.3 48.1 45.9 40.8
1962 68.5 59.4 32.7 NA NA 34.2 45.5 41.8 NA 35.8 34.1 37.6 49.9 48.5 40.7
1963 69.9 61.0 33.6 NA NA 37.0 46.3 43.5 NA 36.5 37.8 40.0 51.8 51.5 41.7
1964 72.4 62.7 36.2 NA NA 39.9 48.7 45.4 NA 38.7 38.1 43.3 52.7 53.7 43.4
1965 73.5 64.9 37.3 NA NA 41.9 50.7 47.7 NA 41.0 37.8 46.6 54.5 56.0 44.7
1966 75.0 66.6 39.3 NA NA 44.0 53.0 49.4 NA 42.4 39.7 49.1 57.8 57.6 45.7
1967 75.3 67.8 42.4 NA NA 46.2 54.5 51.3 NA 42.9 42.8 52.3 61.3 60.3 46.5
1968 77.7 69.4 46.7 NA NA 48.1 54.3 54.3 NA 46.1 45.0 55.2 63.7 62.9 48.1
1969 78.4 71.5 51.9 NA NA 50.2 58.4 57.0 NA 49.5 47.9 57.4 66.6 64.9 49.6
1970 77.8 73.7 56.7 NA NA 53.6 60.4 60.4 NA 56.0 54.5 62.9 66.4 68.0 52.7
1971 79.2 76.0 60.7 NA NA 58.5 65.9 63.7 NA 58.4 58.3 66.2 70.8 70.3 53.5
1972 82.1 77.9 66.2 NA NA 64.1 67.7 65.5 NA 60.7 60.2 69.4 73.0 72.1 57.1
1973 83.0 78.3 71.9 NA 36.5 69.4 71.7 68.8 NA 63.8 65.1 74.9 76.1 73.2 60.3
1974 81.5 81.4 73.3 NA 34.9 73.8 77.4 71.0 NA 66.5 68.6 79.0 80.5 77.6 60.4
1975 82.5 83.4 74.7 NA 36.3 74.8 82.1 75.1 NA 67.4 71.1 80.7 85.6 85.1 64.6
1976 85.5 89.1 75.7 NA 39.8 80.8 85.2 78.8 NA 71.5 76.0 82.5 88.3 89.0 64.9
1977 87.6 91.4 77.4 NA 40.6 81.1 84.8 81.0 NA 74.3 77.3 84.1 89.3 86.0 63.6
1978 88.6 90.8 79.5 NA 43.0 83.1 84.6 82.9 NA 76.9 78.3 86.5 88.7 86.5 67.9
1979 88.4 91.1 82.1 NA 46.0 84.6 87.0 84.7 NA 79.2 81.9 88.1 87.4 86.1 70.7
1980 88.1 91.2 81.0 NA 47.4 86.9 86.7 85.8 NA 80.7 79.2 87.3 86.3 83.1 70.5
1981 88.5 90.8 82.1 NA 49.8 86.0 85.2 86.7 NA 79.7 79.9 86.1 84.6 82.2 72.5
1982 90.0 92.0 83.5 NA 52.7 84.5 86.2 88.0 NA 79.7 79.8 87.4 83.8 81.4 73.5
1983 91.2 94.3 84.4 NA 54.1 84.0 88.5 88.2 NA 80.9 80.2 89.1 85.2 81.8 75.6
1984 92.1 95.4 85.8 NA 58.3 85.3 88.9 89.2 NA 82.7 82.9 88.3 87.6 84.0 78.1
1985 94.0 96.2 87.2 55.5 60.8 87.0 88.7 90.5 NA 84.3 85.3 88.6 90.4 85.5 80.5
1986 96.4 94.2 90.6 58.3 69.0 88.3 90.5 92.0 NA 87.3 86.7 91.5 92.0 88.1 84.4
1987 96.5 93.2 93.0 63.7 75.2 90.4 93.8 92.9 NA 90.9 89.8 94.4 93.7 91.2 90.6
1988 97.7 94.9 94.9 72.0 79.0 92.4 94.9 94.1 NA 93.2 92.5 94.9 94.0 92.7 92.5
1989 96.6 94.1 97.4 75.6 84.5 94.5 94.6 95.3 NA 93.9 95.6 95.1 94.7 96.5 91.6
1990 95.9 94.9 100.4 81.4 92.2 96.9 96.3 96.8 NA 96.4 97.2 95.9 96.1 96.9 93.2
1991 96.7 96.1 101.2 92.8 97.7 99.7 97.6 98.5 92.6 98.2 99.2 98.0 98.7 96.6 97.5
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 101.6 101.2 99.3 109.0 102.9 100.5 100.9 100.4 99.4 99.1 99.6 101.7 99.5 97.7 104.0
1994 103.2 103.6 100.7 117.3 103.9 102.1 102.7 102.0 102.4 101.7 100.2 103.4 101.1 102.5 105.0
1995 102.2 103.3 105.0 137.4 108.1 102.3 104.0 103.5 106.1 104.9 101.1 104.4 102.3 105.7 104.2
1996 100.8 103.4 106.3 149.9 111.5 102.4 104.1 103.4 107.2 107.2 102.6 104.4 104.6 112.6 103.7
1997 101.3 103.8 107.1 152.1 114.5 104.6 106.7 101.8 107.3 107.9 105.3 104.3 106.3 116.5 104.0
1998 104.3 104.2 106.9 147.6 117.1 105.4 107.8 101.5 108.3 109.0 101.9 106.2 110.4 120.2 105.9
1999 107.0 105.1 106.6 155.4 120.7 108.2 108.9 103.7 109.7 NA 102.6 107.3 114.6 121.3 109.7
2000 110.2 103.6 108.0 157.1 120.9 107.5 109.4 102.3 112.0 NA 103.1 109.6 115.3 128.2 112.6
2001 107.1 103.5 108.8 160.2 114.7 109.1 111.0 103.4 111.3 NA 102.8 109.9 117.5 127.9 115.2
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.
- 33 -
Table 15. Total labor compensation in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2001
(Indexes: 1992=100)
United Former West Nether- United
Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany**Germany**Italy lands Norway Sweden* Kingdom*
1950 7.4 4.6 NA NA NA NA 2.8 2.2 NA 3.7 .7 4.4 3.4 2.9 3.1
1955 11.0 6.9 1.8 NA NA NA 3.9 3.9 NA 7.0 1.1 6.9 5.5 4.9 4.9
1960 13.7 8.8 3.4 NA NA 9.2 6.1 6.0 NA 11.6 1.7 10.5 7.3 6.9 6.6
1961 13.7 8.9 4.1 NA NA 10.1 6.8 6.8 NA 13.1 2.0 11.7 8.0 7.7 7.1
1962 14.8 9.6 4.9 NA NA 11.1 7.7 7.5 NA 14.5 2.3 12.6 8.9 8.5 7.3
1963 15.4 10.2 5.6 NA NA 12.4 8.2 8.4 NA 15.2 2.8 13.9 9.5 9.3 7.5
1964 16.4 11.2 6.5 NA NA 14.3 9.1 9.2 NA 16.4 3.0 16.2 10.3 10.2 8.2
1965 17.8 12.4 7.3 NA NA 15.6 10.3 9.8 NA 18.3 3.1 18.2 11.3 11.2 9.0
1966 19.8 14.0 8.3 NA NA 17.1 11.4 10.5 NA 19.4 3.3 20.1 12.6 12.1 9.5
1967 20.7 14.9 9.8 NA NA 17.9 12.0 11.2 NA 18.9 3.8 21.6 14.0 12.8 9.5
1968 22.6 15.9 11.8 NA NA 18.8 13.1 12.1 NA 20.7 4.1 23.4 14.9 13.4 10.1
1969 24.6 17.5 14.2 NA NA 21.1 14.9 13.6 NA 23.6 4.6 26.5 16.1 14.6 11.2
1970 24.8 18.3 17.2 NA 3.0 24.0 16.5 15.5 NA 28.2 5.7 30.3 18.2 16.6 12.7
1971 25.3 19.5 19.6 NA 3.9 27.2 18.2 17.4 NA 30.7 6.6 33.7 20.8 18.0 13.7
1972 27.8 21.6 22.4 NA 4.7 31.0 20.3 19.3 NA 33.0 7.2 36.8 23.2 19.3 15.3
1973 31.5 24.4 28.3 NA 6.4 36.1 23.6 22.2 NA 37.3 8.8 42.4 26.0 21.7 17.7
1974 34.2 28.5 35.3 NA 9.1 43.9 28.2 26.3 NA 40.5 11.5 49.0 30.4 25.7 20.7
1975 34.5 31.5 37.9 NA 9.7 47.2 29.8 30.4 NA 40.9 14.1 53.1 35.8 31.2 26.2
1976 39.2 36.1 41.8 NA 12.3 53.4 33.7 34.8 NA 44.2 17.7 56.7 40.3 36.0 29.7
1977 44.4 39.3 45.8 NA 14.5 55.2 36.8 39.0 NA 47.8 21.2 60.0 44.6 37.8 33.8
1978 50.0 43.8 48.3 NA 17.6 56.5 39.9 43.1 NA 50.6 24.1 62.8 47.0 39.6 39.1
1979 55.9 49.6 51.6 NA 21.5 58.6 45.0 48.0 NA 54.8 29.4 66.0 47.9 42.1 46.1
1980 59.7 54.5 56.0 NA 27.4 62.8 49.3 54.6 NA 59.2 34.6 69.1 52.5 46.3 51.5
1981 65.3 60.9 60.1 NA 34.1 63.1 51.8 60.4 NA 61.0 40.1 70.8 57.5 49.8 53.5
1982 65.6 62.2 62.6 NA 37.2 65.5 57.1 67.7 NA 62.5 45.7 73.0 61.1 51.8 55.9
1983 68.1 65.7 65.4 NA 40.7 68.6 62.3 72.8 NA 63.2 51.1 73.0 64.0 57.0 57.0
1984 75.0 71.3 69.4 NA 48.6 73.2 69.5 76.8 NA 65.9 55.8 73.0 69.2 63.2 60.9
1985 78.5 76.5 72.6 29.4 52.3 77.1 76.1 80.4 NA 69.4 61.3 75.9 76.0 70.0 66.3
1986 80.8 80.6 75.5 34.6 62.5 78.5 82.7 82.4 NA 72.9 64.7 79.4 83.8 75.4 70.3
1987 83.8 85.7 76.7 43.7 70.5 79.7 87.2 83.9 NA 76.0 69.2 82.4 92.8 80.9 77.8
1988 89.5 94.0 80.5 55.9 75.3 82.3 88.9 86.2 NA 78.6 75.5 83.4 94.9 87.2 84.4
1989 92.8 99.3 86.3 62.5 81.2 87.9 91.8 91.0 NA 82.6 83.3 85.0 93.2 94.5 90.3
1990 95.1 100.2 93.2 73.0 86.4 94.0 96.1 96.0 NA 89.5 90.9 90.2 95.5 102.3 97.9
1991 96.0 98.6 99.4 89.4 93.1 98.8 98.0 99.2 95.2 96.0 97.6 95.6 98.2 104.1 100.1
1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
1993 104.2 102.1 97.3 111.1 105.5 99.2 99.1 97.5 96.6 96.6 100.6 100.1 103.6 92.4 102.1
1994 109.4 106.8 96.2 128.2 112.9 99.3 101.6 98.2 97.0 96.8 104.3 100.7 109.6 99.2 105.8
1995 112.2 112.8 96.4 159.0 120.0 100.4 107.6 101.3 99.7 99.2 110.5 103.4 116.3 113.1 110.8
1996 113.4 116.7 96.8 179.1 125.3 101.0 110.2 102.3 99.4 99.4 116.0 104.4 122.3 121.3 114.5
1997 117.5 122.9 99.1 178.9 131.3 103.3 114.5 100.8 99.9 99.5 121.7 107.7 132.9 125.7 119.0
1998 123.5 129.8 95.4 160.7 136.9 105.3 118.9 101.4 102.2 101.2 123.0 113.0 142.9 133.0 125.0
1999 127.4 136.5 92.3 172.8 142.4 107.7 122.0 104.0 103.0 NA 125.2 116.6 145.8 138.1 127.2
2000 134.8 143.0 91.3 194.2 147.4 110.3 125.2 105.2 108.1 NA 128.7 122.2 147.6 142.8 129.8
2001 129.2 146.0 88.9 207.9 133.5 114.9 129.3 109.4 110.5 NA 132.3 127.9 152.6 144.1 129.4
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.
** See note on Germany in box on page 4.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2003.