Country Coverage

Related BLS International Data:

Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment  

Comparative (adjusted to U.S. concepts) labor force, employment, and unemployment data and several analytical variables are available from the Economic News Releases and Special Data Tables section on the Foreign Labor Statistics home page starting from 1960 for ten countries.

North America Asia and Oceania Europe
Canada* Australia* France*
United States* Japan* Germany*
    Italy*
    Netherlands*
    Sweden*
    United Kingdom*

Data on monthly and quarterly unemployment rates are also updated and published on a monthly basis for ten countries (denoted by an asterisk in the above chart).

The international labor force series are constructed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to provide meaningful comparisons by selecting the U.S. concepts of labor force, employment, and unemployment for comparative purposes; analyzing foreign statistical series and selecting those which most nearly match the desired concepts; and adjusting statistical series, where necessary and feasible, for greater inter-country comparability.

Data on monthly and quarterly unemployment rates for European Union (EU) countries not covered in the comparative U.S. indicators are published on a monthly basis for eight selected countries and for EU regions.

There are other sources for international labor force and related data, including some that contain data for countries not covered by BLS. (The sources cited below are not exhaustive and are not maintained or controlled by BLS. They are provided for your convenience.)

 

Hourly Compensation Costs  

Comparative hourly compensation costs in national currencies and U.S. dollars for production workers and all employees in manufacturing are available from the Economic News Releases and Special Data Tables section on the Foreign Labor Statistics home page starting from 1975 for 36 economies.

Americas Asia and Oceania Europe
Argentina Australia Austria
Brazil Hong Kong SAR Belgium
Canada Israel Czech Republic
Mexico Japan Denmark
United States Korea, Rep. of Finland
  New Zealand France
  Philippines Germany
  Singapore Greece
  Sri Lanka Hungary
  Taiwan Ireland
    Italy
    Luxembourg
    Netherlands
    Norway
    Poland
    Portugal
    Slovakia
    Spain
    Sweden
    Switzerland
    United Kingdom

The series on hourly compensation costs is constructed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to provide meaningful comparisons by selecting a conceptual framework for comparative purposes; analyzing foreign statistical series and selecting those which most nearly match the desired concepts; and adjusting statistical series, where necessary and feasible, for greater inter-country comparability.

There are other sources for international hourly compensation costs and related data, including some that contain countries not covered by BLS. (The sources cited below are not exhaustive and are not maintained or controlled by BLS. They are provided for your convenience.)

 

Productivity and Unit Labor Costs  

Comparative productivity and unit labor cost data for the manufacturing sector are available from the Economic News Releases and Special Data Tables section on the Foreign Labor Statistics home page starting from 1950 for 16 economies.

North America Asia and Oceania Europe
Canada Australia Belgium
United States Japan Denmark
  Korea, Rep. of France
  Taiwan Germany
    Italy
    Netherlands
    Norway
    Spain
    Sweden
    United Kingdom

The international productivity and unit labor cost series are constructed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to provide meaningful comparisons by selecting a conceptual framework for comparative purposes; analyzing foreign statistical series and selecting those which most nearly match the desired concepts; and adjusting statistical series, where necessary and feasible, for greater inter-country comparability.

There are other sources for international productivity, unit labor cost, and related data, including some that contain countries not covered by BLS. (The sources cited below are not exhaustive and are not maintained or controlled by BLS. They are provided for your convenience.)

 

Gross Domestic Product per Capita and per Employed Person  

Comparative real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and per employed person are available from the Economic News Releases and Special Data Tables section on the Foreign Labor Statistics home page starting from 1960 for 16 countries.

North America Asia and Oceania Europe
Canada Japan Austria
United States Korea, Rep. of Belgium
  Australia Denmark
    France
    Germany
    Italy
    Netherlands
    Norway
    Spain
    Sweden
    United Kingdom

Sources for international GDP and related data for countries not covered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): (The sources cited below are not exhaustive and are not maintained or controlled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They are provided for your convenience.)

 

Consumer Price Indexes

Unadjusted Data

Unadjusted annual consumer price indexes (CPI) are available from the Economic News Releases and Special Data Tables section on the Foreign Labor Statistics home page starting from 1950 for 16 countries.

North America Asia and Oceania Europe
Canada* Australia Austria
United States* Japan* Belgium
    Denmark
    France*
    Germany*
    Italy*
    Netherlands
    Norway
    Spain
    Sweden*
    Switzerland*
    United Kingdom*

The indexes provided by BLS are from the national consumer price indexes as published by each country. They are not adjusted for comparability, except to convert the indexes to a common base year. National differences exist, for example, with respect to population coverage, frequency of market basket weight changes, and treatment of homeowner costs.

Data on percent changes in national CPIs are also available on a monthly basis for nine countries (denoted by an asterisk in the above chart).

Sources for international CPI and related data for countries not covered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): (The sources cited below are not exhaustive and are not maintained or controlled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They are provided for your convenience.)

  • International Labor Office (ILO) LABORSTA—Statistics on employment, unemployment, hours of work, wages, labor cost, consumer price indices, occupational injuries, strikes and lockouts, and occupational wages and hours

Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)  

Monthly percent change data for indexes following the concepts and methods of the European HICP are available for eight countries and areas.

North America Asia and Oceania Europe
United States Japan France
    Germany
    Italy
    United Kingdom
    European Union
    Euro Area

The HICP differs from the U.S. CPI in two main areas; it covers the entire U.S. population and excludes owner-occupied housing from its scope. More information about the concepts and methods of the HICP can be found on the Internet at: www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/05/art3full.pdf.

 

Last Modified Date: January 29, 2008