December 30, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Declines in unit labor costs and gains in productivity
Since 1987, unit labor costs have risen for 86
percent of the 173 industries included in a recent BLS report. However,
there are about two dozen industries in which unit labor costs actually
fell over the same period.
[Chart data—TXT]
The data show a strong inverse relationship between changes in labor
productivity—measured by output per hour—and changes in unit labor
costs. In fact, all 23 industries that experienced declining unit labor
costs since 1987 also experienced rising productivity.
The chart displays the rate of change in unit labor costs and the rise
in output per hour in the 23 industries with declining unit labor costs.
Follow the "Chart data—TXT" link for a list of those
industries.
These data are a product of the BLS Industry
Productivityprogram. Data are subject to revision. Unit labor costs—the cost of the labor input
required to produce one unit of output—are computed by dividing total
compensation by real output. For more information see BLS Report 939,
"Unit Labor Costs for Selected Industries, 1987-97," (PDF
44K).
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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