Related BLS programs | Related articles
December 1993, Vol. 116,
No. 12
International comparisons of manufacturing unit labor costs
Arthur Neef
Chief, Division of Foreign Labor
Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Christopher Kask and Christopher
Sparks
Economists, Division of Foreign Labor
Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics
The rate of labor productivity growth was lower in the United States than in Japan and several European countries over the 1979-92 period. Only Belgium and the Netherlands had smaller average increases in unit labor costs after adjustment for exchange rate changes. This article first examines comparative trends in manufacturing output per hour, unit labor costs, and related measures for the United States and 11 other industrial nations in the most recent year, 1992, and then discusses developments over the period 1979 to 1992.
Read excerpt Download full text in PDF (786K)
Within Monthly Labor Review Online:
Welcome | Current
Issue | Index | Subscribe | Archives
Exit Monthly Labor Review Online:
BLS Home | Publications
& Research Papers