September 2, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Productivity gains in German and American factories better than 4 percent in 1998

Of 11 countries, Germany’s gain in manufacturing labor productivity of 4.3 percent was the highest in 1998. Productivity growth in manufacturing in the United States was nearly as high, at 4.1 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

Other countries with significant increases in manufacturing output per hour were France, Sweden, and Norway. Productivity in the manufacturing sector rose by 3.4 percent in France, 2.2 percent in Sweden, and 2.1 percent in Norway.

In 1997, productivity in U.S. manufacturing increased at the same rate as in 1998. In eight of the other ten countries, the rate of productivity growth was lower in 1998 than in 1997. The exceptions were Norway, in which manufacturing productivity declined by 0.1 percent during 1997, and the United Kingdom, where productivity growth went from 0.5 percent in 1997 to 1.0 percent in 1998.

These data are a product of the BLS Foreign Labor Statistics program. Data are preliminary and subject to revision. Additional information is available in "International Comparisons of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Cost Trends, 1998," news release USDL 99-235.