International Comparisons of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Costs Trends, Summary Table 2
26 May 2015
Table 2. Growth trend in unit labor cost (ULC), total labor cost, and output
National currency basis, manufacturing sector, 1999-2014
Average annual compound rates of change
Country Indicator |
1999-2006 | 2007-2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
United States ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-1.91.43.4 |
0.1-0.1-0.3 |
-0.11.31.4 |
0.53.83.3 |
Austrlia ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
2.33.81.5 |
2.32.2-0.2 |
1.4-0.9-2.2 |
4.82.8-1.9 |
Austria ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-1.42.13.5 |
1.22.81.6 |
1.72.50.7 |
1.71.90.3 |
Belgium ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-0.21.92.1 |
0.81.00.2 |
1.01.0-0.1 |
-2.0-0.31.8 |
Canada ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
1.43.41.9 |
1.4-0.6-2.0 |
1.51.2-0.3 |
-1.21.62.9 |
Czech Republic ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-2.06.58.7 |
-1.12.33.5 |
2.80.3-2.4 |
-1.14.86.0 |
Denmark ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
0.91.91.0 |
-0.3-0.3-0.1 |
-1.81.02.9 |
1.93.71.8 |
Finland ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-3.03.56.6 |
4.30.1-4.0 |
-1.7-3.6-1.9 |
-0.3-1.1-0.8 |
France ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-0.71.62.3 |
1.00.8-0.2 |
1.10.3-0.8 |
0.20.40.2 |
Germany ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-1.61.22.8 |
1.22.11.0 |
3.23.50.3 |
1.13.32.2 |
Ireland ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-1.45.16.5 |
-2.0-2.5-0.5 |
6.02.1-3.7 |
-1.42.94.3 |
Italy ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
1.52.41.0 |
2.30.1-2.1 |
1.2-0.9-2.1 |
3.12.8-0.4 |
Japan ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-4.4-2.02.5 |
-2.5-1.70.8 |
-1.9-1.70.1 |
0.62.62.0 |
Netherlands ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-0.41.82.2 |
0.61.30.8 |
2.31.9-0.4 |
0.32.21.9 |
Norway ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
2.13.61.5 |
2.22.90.7 |
2.66.03.4 |
0.54.13.6 |
Singapore ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-3.73.57.6 |
-0.84.55.3 |
3.25.01.7 |
1.54.22.6 |
South Korea ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-0.39.39.7 |
0.86.55.6 |
0.13.43.3 |
0.04.04.0 |
Spain ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
1.44.22.8 |
1.3-1.5-2.8 |
-2.0-3.1-1.1 |
-0.32.02.3 |
Sweden ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-2.92.85.8 |
1.71.2-0.5 |
-0.5-1.1-0.6 |
1.60.2-1.3 |
Taiwan ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-3.53.37.1 |
-4.12.06.4 |
-0.21.31.5 |
-2.73.56.3 |
United Kingdom ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
0.71.00.3 |
1.90.7-1.2 |
4.14.0-0.1 |
0.93.22.3 |
All Economies ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
NANA3.0 |
NANA0.2 |
NANA0.5 |
NANA2.4 |
Europe ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
NANA2.4 |
NANA-0.3 |
NANA-0.5 |
NANA1.5 |
Euro Area ULC in national currencyTotal labor cost in national currencyoutput |
-0.52.02.5 |
1.31.0-0.3 |
1.91.2-0.6 |
0.92.31.4 |
Note:
NA = Not Available
“Output” is defined as value added.
Data for all countries relate to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers), except for Taiwan, where data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) and Singapore where data for compensation refer to employees (wage and salary earners).
Data for all countries (except Japan) are prepared according to the System of National Accounts (SNA) 2008 or its European counterpart, the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010). Data for Japan are based on the SNA 1993.
Prior to 1991, data for Germany are estimated with data from the former West Germany.
All Economies refers to all countries in the ILC productivity and unit labor costs comparisons series, excluding Norway, Singapore, and Taiwan due to missing purchasing power parities (PPPs) for manufacturing used to convert output denominated in national currency units to US dollars.
Europe includes Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Norway is excluded due to missing purchasing power parities (PPPs) for manufacturing used to convert output denominated in national currency units to US dollars.
Euro Area includes Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.
“Compensation” data are used as a proxy for “Labor Cost” when payroll tax and subsidies data are not available to adjust worker compensation to an employer labor cost basis. See country notes for more details.
For complete definitions and country information, see Technical Notes and Country Notes (Coming Soon).
Source: The Conference Board, International Labor Comparisons program, May 2015
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