Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/ilc USDL: 09-0304
Technical information: (202) 691-5654 For Release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, March 26, 2009
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS OF HOURLY COMPENSATION
COSTS IN MANUFACTURING, 2007
The trade-weighted average of hourly compensation costs in U.S.
dollars for all employees in manufacturing among 31 foreign economies
was 85 percent of the U.S. level in 2007, increasing from 79 percent in
2006, according to data issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.
Department of Labor. Compensation costs relative to the United States
rose or remained unchanged in all but one of the economies covered in
2007. (See table 1.) This news release contains data for production
workers in addition to the series for all employees. (See discussion on
page 6, table B, and table 7.) A note on China's labor costs appears on
page 6 of this release.
In the United States, hourly compensation costs for all employees in
manufacturing rose 1.9 percent from the 2006 level to $30.56 in 2007.
When measured in national currency terms, trade-weighted average costs
increased 3.4 percent in the combined 31 foreign economies in 2007. The
value of foreign currencies rose 4.9 percent against the U.S. dollar,
resulting in a rise in hourly compensation costs in the foreign economies of
8.5 percent on a U.S. dollar basis. (See chart 1 and table A.)
Chart 1. Hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars for
all employees in manufacturing, 1998-2007
PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT.
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Compensation costs for all employees expressed in U.S. dollars
This release provides manufacturing compensation data in terms of
both national currencies and U.S. dollars. While data on a national
currency basis show underlying wage and benefit trends within each
country, frequent and sometimes sharp changes in currency exchange rates
can have a large impact on compensation costs in U.S. dollar terms. Data
on a U.S. dollar basis are calculated by dividing compensation costs in the
national currency by the exchange rate (expressed as national currency
units per U.S. dollar). Compensation costs on a U.S. dollar basis are often
used as indicators of competitiveness of manufactured goods in world
trade and are the focus of the following discussion.
Compensation costs for all employees in manufacturing measured in
U.S. dollars continued to rise in 2007 in most of the foreign economies-
with only one country, Japan, showing a decrease in costs (-1.5 percent).
Hourly compensation costs in Taiwan increased only marginally, by 0.6
percent. The rate of compensation increase in a trade-weighted average of
the 31 foreign economies was 8.5 percent in 2007, more than double the
3.9 percent historical average for the series. (See table A and table 3.)
Chart 2. Indexes of hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars
for all employees in manufacturing, 2007 (U.S.=100)
PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT.
Although average costs in the United States continued to be higher
than those in most of the economies covered outside of Europe, 13 of the
19 European countries covered had higher hourly compensation costs than
the United States, in most cases more than 20 percent higher. Hourly
compensation costs in Denmark, Germany, and Norway were especially
high when compared to the United States (56 percent higher, 66 percent
higher, and 80 percent higher, respectively). The euro appreciated against
the U.S. dollar in 2007 by a considerable amount (+9.1 percent), causing
double-digit growth in labor costs measured in U.S. dollars in most
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European countries. Trade-weighted average hourly compensation costs in
the four Eastern European countries in the series grew 23.0 percent when
measured in U.S. dollars due in part to double-digit increases in the
exchange rates of their national currencies against the U.S. dollar.
Compensation costs in Europe, on average, continued to be almost $9
higher on a per hour basis than in the United States. However, there is
great variation in the level of compensation costs among the European
countries covered. For example, hourly compensation costs in Europe
ranged from $7.69 in Poland to more than seven times that level in
Norway ($55.03), the highest labor cost country in these comparisons. (See
table 2.)
Outside of Europe, only Canada and Australia had compensation
costs higher than the United States when measured in U.S. dollars. In
2007, the lowest compensation costs relative to the United States were in
Mexico and the Philippines (13 percent and 4 percent of the U.S. level,
respectively). In the East Asia ex-Japan economies, the trade-weighted
average of hourly compensation costs rose to 43 percent of the U.S. level
in 2007, continuing the upward trend seen since 2002, when compensation
costs in the region were 32 percent of the U.S. level.
Annual percent changes in manufacturing compensation costs
measured in U.S. dollars varied considerably in 2007 among the non-
European countries. The only economies outside of Europe that did not
show double-digit increases in hourly compensation costs were Canada,
Mexico, Japan, and Taiwan. As mentioned above, Japan was the only
country in these comparisons to show a decrease in hourly compensation
costs measured in U.S. dollars due to both the depreciation of the Japanese
yen and a relatively unchanged hourly compensation cost in the national
currency of that country. This is the third consecutive year that Japan has
had negative growth in hourly compensation costs when measured in U.S.
dollars.
BOX: A note on the measures
The hourly compensation costs measures in this news release
are based on statistics available to BLS as of January 2009. These
measures are prepared specifically for international comparisons of
employer labor costs in manufacturing. The methods used, as well as
the results, differ somewhat from those of other BLS series on U.S.
compensation costs.
See the Technical Notes for further information regarding
definitions, sources, and computation methods, as well as a
description of the trade-weighted measures for economic groups.
The data for some countries may be revised in later
updates to reflect new or revised data provided to BLS subsequent
to this news release. See International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation
Costs for All Employees and Production Workers in Manufacturing, 22
Manufacturing Industries at http://www.bls.gov/ilc/flshcaeindnaics.htm
for the most recent data.
END OF BOX: A note on the measures
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Exchange rates
The trade-weighted 4.9 percent increase in the value of the currencies
of the 31 foreign economies against the U.S. dollar was the largest increase
since 2004 (5.8 percent). From 1996 to 2002, the trade-weighted value of
the currencies against the U.S. dollar weakened, on average, while the
opposite has been true from 2003 to 2007. The currencies of all economies
appreciated against the U.S. dollar in 2007 with the exception of
Argentina, Mexico, Japan, and Taiwan. (See table 5.)
The movements of the foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar in
2007 had an influence on hourly manufacturing compensation costs
measured in U.S. dollars. Hourly compensation costs on a national
currency basis in the 31 foreign economies rose 3.4 percent. However,
when adjusted for the appreciation of the foreign currencies against the
U.S. dollar, this increase in costs was magnified to 8.5 percent. In 2007,
changes in both hourly compensation costs and exchange rates moved in
the same direction for nearly all countries, so that increases (or decreases)
in percent changes in hourly compensation costs in national currency were
larger when measured in U.S. dollars. One exception, for example, is
Argentina, where hourly compensation costs grew 22.7 percent in the
national currency and only 21.4 percent when measured in U.S. dollars
due to a 1.1 percent depreciation of the Argentine peso to the U.S. dollar.
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Table A. Hourly compensation costs, in national currency and in
U.S. dollars, for all employees in manufacturing and exchange
rates (U.S. dollars per national currency unit)
Percent change, 2006-2007
Hourly Hourly
Country compensation, compensation,
or area national Exchange U.S.
currency Rates dollars
Americas
United States 1.9 - 1.9
Argentina 22.7 -1.1 21.4
Brazil 6.5 11.7 19.0
Canada 3.2 5.6 9.0
Mexico 5.1 -.2 4.9
Asia and Oceania
Australia 2.4 11.4 14.0
Israel 3.6 7.8 11.7
Japan -.3 -1.2 -1.5
Korea, Republic of 7.7 2.7 10.7
New Zealand 5.2 13.4 19.4
Philippines 3.1 9.5 13.0
Singapore 6.3 5.4 12.0
Taiwan 1.6 -1.1 .6
Europe
Austria 3.4 9.1 12.8
Belgium 1.9 9.1 11.2
Czech Republic 8.1 10.0 18.9
Denmark 5.7 9.2 15.4
Finland 3.2 9.1 12.6
France 2.7 9.1 12.1
Germany .7 9.1 9.9
Hungary 9.7 13.6 24.7
Ireland 6.2 9.1 15.9
Italy 2.8 9.1 12.2
Netherlands 1.9 9.1 11.2
Norway 6.6 9.5 16.7
Poland 10.4 10.7 22.3
Portugal .5 9.1 9.7
Slovakia 7.9 18.8 28.3
Spain 3.8 9.1 13.3
Sweden 3.6 9.1 13.0
Switzerland 1.5 4.4 6.0
United Kingdom 3.9 8.5 12.8
Trade-weighted measures (1)
All 31 foreign economies 3.4 4.9 8.5
OECD (2) 3.2 4.9 8.2
Europe 2.8 8.9 12.0
Euro Area 2.3 9.2 11.7
Eastern Europe 9.3 12.5 23.0
East Asia ex-Japan 5.1 2.7 8.0
(1) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups,
see the Technical Notes starting on page 10 of this release.
(2) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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Compensation costs for production workers
BLS also compiles hourly compensation data for production workers
in manufacturing. Production workers generally include those employees
who are engaged in fabricating, assembly, and related activities and
typically account for a large part of manufacturing employment. All
employees include production workers as well as all others employed full
or part time in an establishment. (See the technical notes beginning on
page 10 for more detailed definitions of production workers and all
employees.) The production worker series includes data for Hong Kong
SAR, Sri Lanka, Greece, and Luxembourg, four economies not covered by
the all employee series. Argentina and Slovakia are not included in the
production worker series as comparable data are not available.
BOX: Compensation Costs for China
Acknowledging the importance of China as one of the United
States' largest trading partners, BLS has undertaken the development of
estimates of hourly compensation costs for that country. Data for each
year in the 2002-2006 period are shown below; the data for 2002, 2003, and
2004 were issued previously. Compensation costs for China are not directly
comparable with the data for other countries found in this release and
therefore are presented seperately.
A description of the methods used to construct the estimate for 2002
and data comparability issues can be found in Judith Banister's article
in the August 2005 Monthly Labor Review (which can be found on the BLS
website at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/08/art3full.pdf). In general,
the methods used to prepare the hourly compensation costs data for
subsequent years are the same as used in the Banister article. (A discussion
of the estimates for 2003 and 2004 can be found in the November 2006 Monthly
Labor Review, at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/11/art4full.pdf.) A
discussion of the 2005 and 2006 data for China will be available in a
forthcoming article scheduled for the April 2009 issue of the Review.
China: Hourly Compensation Costs for All Employees in
Manufacturing, 2002-2006
National U.S. Index (1)
Year Currency Dollar (United
Basis Basis States
(Yuan) (US$) =100)
2002 4.73 0.57 2.1
2003 5.17 0.62 2.2
2004 5.50 0.67 2.3
2005 5.94 0.73 2.4
2006 6.43 0.81 2.7
(1) The index represents hourly compensation costs in China as a percent of
hourly compensation costs for all employees in U.S. manufacturing. Previous
releases presented hourly compensation costs in China as a percent of hourly
compensation costs for U.S. manufacturing production workers.
END OF BOX: Compensation Costs for China
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As the final column in Table B shows, hourly compensation costs for
production workers are lower than those for all employees in each
economy covered by the two series, generally ranging from 10 percent to
25 percent lower than all employee hourly compensation costs. The
difference between the two series depends not only upon the higher
compensation of non-production workers than production workers, but
also on the relative employment levels of the two worker groups; typically
the larger the portion of all employees accounted for by production
workers, the smaller the gap in compensation costs.
In the United States, hourly compensation costs for production
workers in manufacturing were $24.59 in 2007, 80 percent of all employee
compensation costs. Only 5 of the 29 foreign economies covered by both
the production worker and all employee hourly compensation costs series
had a larger difference between the compensation levels of the two groups
than the United States.
Canada and Australia were the only non-European economies to have
higher hourly compensation costs than the United States in 2007 for
production workers when measured in U.S. dollars ($28.91 and $30.17,
respectively). Among the European countries, 14 of 20 economies in the
series had higher compensation costs than the United States. Sri Lanka,
which is not covered in the all employee series, had the lowest hourly
compensation costs for production workers at only 2 percent of the U.S.
level.
Measuring compensation costs on a production worker basis changes
the position of some countries relative to the United States. For example,
all employee compensation costs in Singapore were 50 percent of the U.S.
level for 2007. However, the gap between all employee and production
worker hourly compensation costs is much higher in Singapore than in the
United States (46 percent versus 20 percent in 2007), so when
compensation costs are measured on a production worker basis,
Singapore's costs are only 34 percent of the U.S. level.
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Table B. Hourly Compensation Costs of All Employees and Production Workers
in Manufacturing, 2007
Country All Production All Production Production
or area Employees Workers Employees Workers Workers (All
(US=100) (US=100) (US$) (US$) Employees=100)
Americas
United States 100 100 30.56 24.59 80
Argentina 26 - 7.98 - -
Brazil 23 24 7.13 5.96 84
Canada 104 118 31.91 28.91 91
Mexico 13 12 3.91 2.92 75
Asia and Oceania
Australia 114 123 34.75 30.17 87
Hong Kong SAR (1) - 24 - 5.78 -
Israel 52 57 15.92 13.91 87
Japan 78 80 23.95 19.75 82
Korea, Republic of 60 65 18.36 16.02 87
New Zealand 63 70 19.19 17.27 90
Philippines 4 4 1.37 1.10 81
Singapore 50 34 15.43 8.35 54
Sri Lanka - 2 - .61 -
Taiwan 27 27 8.15 6.58 81
Europe
Austria 141 144 43.17 35.33 82
Belgium 127 144 38.75 35.45 92
Czech Republic 32 33 9.67 8.20 85
Denmark 156 172 47.54 42.29 89
Finland 130 139 39.74 34.18 86
France 123 116 37.68 28.57 76
Germany 166 153 50.73 37.66 74
Greece - 73 - 18.03 -
Hungary 34 32 10.49 7.91 75
Ireland 117 118 35.62 29.04 82
Italy 105 115 32.19 28.23 88
Luxembourg - 124 - 30.60 -
Netherlands 129 139 39.47 34.07 86
Norway 180 197 55.03 48.56 88
Poland 25 25 7.69 6.17 80
Portugal 34 34 10.29 8.27 80
Slovakia 28 - 8.49 - -
Spain 80 85 24.55 20.98 85
Sweden 127 147 38.80 36.03 93
Switzerland 125 134 38.34 32.88 86
United Kingdom 120 121 36.66 29.73 81
(1) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.
- 9 -
Additional data available
In addition to the compensation cost measures covered in this news
release, supplementary tables are available for comparative levels of hourly
compensation costs, hourly direct pay, pay for time worked, and the
structure of compensation for all employees in manufacturing for all years
from 1996 to 2007, and for production workers in manufacturing for all
years from 1975 to 2007. Data also are available for national currency
hourly compensation and exchange rates in the supplementary tables
(http://www.bls.gov/ilc).
BLS also computes comparative measures for 22 component
manufacturing industries. Data for the component industries are not
included in this release; in general, the data limitations for the component
industries are greater than for total manufacturing. Data are available via
the Internet (http://www.bls.gov/ilc). This series is updated several times
per year as data become available. The data for component industries
currently are available on a North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) basis from 1996 to 2006 for all employees and from 1992 to
2006 for production workers.
For further information, contact the Division of International Labor
Comparisons by phone at 202-691-5654, by e-mail at ilchelp@bls.gov, or
by mail at Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE,
Room 2150, Washington, DC 20212.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message
referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.
This material is in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may
be reproduced without permission. It may be translated into foreign
languages without permission, with a separate credit for the translation.
-10-
TECHNICAL NOTES
The tables in this news release present international comparisons of
hourly compensation costs for all employees and production workers in
manufacturing in selected countries or areas. The total compensation
measures are prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in order to assess
international differences in employer labor costs. For several reasons, the
comparisons based on the more readily available average earnings statistics
published by many countries can be misleading: national definitions of
average earnings differ considerably; average earnings do not include all
items of labor compensation; and the omitted items of compensation
frequently represent a large proportion of total compensation.
The compensation measures in this news release are based on statistics
available to BLS as of January 2009. These measures may be revised as
data are collected to update compensation measures for component
industries. Data for component industries are available at
http://www.bls.gov/fls/flshcindnaics.htm.
Definitions
Hourly compensation costs include (1) hourly direct pay and (2)
employer social insurance expenditures and other labor taxes. Hourly
direct pay includes all payments made directly to the worker, before
payroll deductions of any kind, consisting of pay for time worked and
other direct pay. Social insurance expenditures and other labor taxes
refers to the value of social contributions incurred by employers in order to
secure entitlement to social benefits for their employees; these
contributions often provide delayed, future income and benefits to
employees. Included are employer expenditures for legally required
insurance programs, contractual and private benefit plans, and other labor
taxes. Other labor taxes refer to taxes on payrolls or employment (or
reductions to reflect subsidies), even if they do not finance programs that
directly benefit workers.
The BLS definition of hourly compensation costs is not the same as
the International Labor Office (ILO) definition of total labor costs. BLS
hourly compensation costs do not include all items of labor costs.
Expenditures on the maintenance and repair of facilities related to
company-provided services—such as cafeterias, daycare centers, private
medical clinics, and recreational facilities— are excluded because they are
overhead costs not directly linked to the level of employment or payroll.
Recruitment and vocational training costs and reimbursements of business
expenses are not included because the concepts used, and thus the
measurement of these items, are not consistent across countries. The above
labor costs items not included account for no more than 2 percent of total
labor costs in most countries for which the data are available.
Production workers generally include those employees who are
engaged in fabricating, assembly, and related activities; material handling,
warehousing, and shipping; maintenance and repair; janitorial and guard
services; auxiliary production (for example, power plants); and other
services closely related to the above activities. Working supervisors are
generally included; apprentices and other trainees are generally excluded.
All employees include production workers as well as all others
employed full or part time in an establishment during a specified payroll
period. Temporary employees are included. Persons are considered
employed if they receive pay for any part of the specified pay period. The
self-employed, unpaid family workers, and workers in private households
are excluded.
-11-
Hourly Compensation Costs consists of:
> Hourly Direct Pay
>> Pay for Time Worked
>>> Basic wages
>>> Piece rate
>>> Overtime premiums
>>> Shift, holiday, or night work premiums
>>> Cost-of-living adjustments
>>> Bonuses and premiums paid each pay period
>> Other Direct Pay
>>> Pay for time not worked (vacations, holidays, and other
leave, except sick leave)
>>> Seasonal and irregular bonuses
>>> Allowances for family events, commuting expenses, etc.
>>> The cash value of payments in kind
>>> Severance pay (where explicitly not linked to a collective
agreement)
> Employer Social Insurance Expenditures (both legally required and
contractual and private) and Other Labor Taxes
>> Retirement and disability pensions
>> Health insurance
>> Income guarantee insurance and sick leave
>> Life and accident insurance
>> Occupational injury and illness compensation
>> Unemployment insurance
>> Severance pay (where linked to a collective
agreement)
>> Other social insurance expenditures
>> Taxes (or subsidies) on payrolls or employment
Data on Hourly Direct Pay, Pay for Time Worked, and Social Insurance
Expenditures can be found in the supplementary tables to this news release
at http://www.bls.gov/ilc/hcaesupptabtoc.htm for all employees and
http://www.bls.gov/ilc/hcpwsupptabtoc.htm for production workers.
Methods
Total compensation is computed by adjusting each country's average
earnings series for items of direct pay not included in earnings and for
employer expenditures for legally required insurance, contractual and
private benefit plans, and other labor taxes and subsidies. For the United
States and other countries that measure earnings on an hours-paid basis,
the figures are also adjusted in order to approximate compensation per
hour worked.
Earnings statistics are obtained from surveys of employment, hours,
and earnings, from surveys or censuses of manufactures, or from
administrative data sources. The surveys used in the BLS series typically
cover firms with a minimum of one to ten employees.
For most countries, average earnings are adjusted to total
compensation using adjustment factors obtained from periodic labor cost
surveys or censuses of manufacturers; the adjustment factors are
interpolated or projected to non-survey years on the basis of other
information. Generally, these surveys cover all employees in the
establishment; survey data are used for both production worker and all
employee series. Other information used includes tabulations of employer
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social security contribution rates provided by the International Social
Security Association, information on contractual and legislated fringe
benefit changes, and statistical series on indirect labor costs. For the
United States, the adjustment factors are specially constructed for
international comparisons using data from several surveys. The methods
used, as well as the results, differ somewhat from those for other BLS
series on U.S. compensation costs.
The statistics are also adjusted, where necessary, to account for major
differences in worker coverage; differences in industrial classification
systems; and changes over time in survey coverage, sample benchmarks, or
frequency of surveys. Nevertheless, some differences remain. Exceptions
to these methods, as well as data sources used can be found in "Country
Notes and Sources" located at www.bls.gov/ilc.
Exchange Rates and Currencies
Hourly compensation costs are converted to U.S. dollars using the
average daily exchange rate for the reference period. The exchange rates
used are prevailing commercial market exchange rates as published by
either the U.S. Federal Reserve Board or the International Monetary Fund.
On January 1, 1999, several European countries joined the European
Monetary Union (EMU): Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Greece
joined on January 1, 2001 and Slovakia joined on January 1, 2009. There
are currently other member countries of the EMU that are not covered in
this report. Currencies of EMU members were established at fixed
conversion rates to the euro, the official currency of the EMU. For the
EMU countries, with the exception of Greece, data on hourly
compensation costs are published in the old national currencies used in
each country before the adoption of the euro from 1992-1998 and in euros
from 1999-2006. Data for Greece are reported in drachmas from 1992-
2000 and in euros from 2001-2006. Slovakia will be reported in euros
beginning with 2009 data.
Industrial classification
The hourly compensation measures relate to manufacturing on a North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) basis. NAICS is the
common industrial classification used by the United States, Canada, and
Mexico. The NAICS definition of manufacturing differs somewhat from
the definition of manufacturing used in other countries. Some industries
that are not included in the NAICS definition of manufacturing, such as
publishing of books and sound recordings, some repair and maintenance of
equipment, and some business support services, are included in the
definition of manufacturing in most other industrial classifications. In
contrast, other industries are included in the NAICS definition of
manufacturing but not in the definition of manufacturing for most foreign
economies, such as some processing of foods, some packaging, and retail
sales of bakery products from the production facility. Most of the
differences other than the treatment of publishing are very minor and do
not have a noticeable impact on overall manufacturing averages. BLS
makes adjustments to remove publishing from manufacturing for the
foreign economies in which it is classified as a part of manufacturing—
except for Sri Lanka, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Switzerland, for which
the data necessary to remove publishing are not available. For the
countries for which adjustments are made, the effect of publishing on
manufacturing wages is estimated and removed using data from national
sources or the United Nations Industrial Statistics Database. Except for
Hong Kong, the effect of removing publishing from manufacturing does
not change the level of hourly compensation costs for any economy more
-13-
than 1.5 percent, and the change is less than one percent in most countries.
For Hong Kong, the effect of the adjustments is 2 to 4 percent in several
years.
Trade-weighted measures
The trade weights used to compute the average compensation cost
measures for selected economic groups are weights based on the relative
dollar value of U.S. trade in manufactured commodities (exports plus
imports) with each country or area in 2007. (See the following table.) The
trade data are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The only countries not covered in the trade-weighted measures of this
report that accounted for as much as one percent of such trade in 2007 are
China, India, Malaysia, and Thailand. Hourly compensation costs data for
China are included in this report in a special text box. In addition, an
article on manufacturing compensation costs in China is available on the
BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/11/art4full.pdf. The
compensation data on China are not directly comparable with the data for
other countries found in this news release.
The countries included in the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) trade-weighted measure are Canada, Mexico,
Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, and all European
countries covered in the series. The group labeled "Euro Area" consists of
the 13 European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009 (Austria, Belgium,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain). The group labeled "Europe"
consists of the members of the Euro Area and the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the
United Kingdom. The group labeled "Eastern Europe" consists of the
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The group labeled "East
Asia ex-Japan" consists of Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Korea, the
Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan.
The trade-weighted measures relate to all the countries or areas
covered in the series. If data for the most recent year(s) are missing for a
country, trade-weighted estimates are computed using the average percent
change of all the other economies in the series to estimate the missing
year(s). An economy is included in trade-weight series beginning with the
start year of that economy’s data series.
The trade-weighted average rates of change are computed as the
trade-weighted arithmetic average of the rates of change for the individual
countries or areas; the trade-weighted average hourly compensation costs
are computed as the trade-weighted arithmetic average of cost levels for
the individual countries or areas. Rates of change derived from the trade-
weighted average hourly compensation cost levels need not be the same as
the trade-weighted average rates of change.
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Share of total U.S. imports and exports of manufactured products in 2007
(in percent)
Country or area 2007 Country or area 2007
and economic trade and economic trade
group share group share
Argentina 0.3 Greece 0.1
Brazil 1.7 Hungary 0.1
Canada 16.8 Ireland 1.4
Mexico 10.6 Italy 1.6
Luxembourg 0.1
Australia 0.9 Netherlands 1.7
Hong Kong SAR(1) 1.0 Norway 0.3
Israel 1.2 Poland 0.2
Japan 7.4 Portugal 0.2
Korea, Republic of 2.8 Slovakia 0.1
New Zealand 0.2 Spain 0.6
Philippines 0.6 Sweden 0.7
Singapore 1.6 Switzerland 1.0
Sri Lanka 0.1 United Kingdom 3.4
Taiwan 2.2
Economic Groups (2)
Austria 0.4 31 foreign economies 67.3
Belgium 1.4 OECD(3) 59.6
Czech Republic 0.1 Europe 21.0
Denmark 0.3 Euro Area (4) 14.9
Finland 0.3 Eastern Europe 0.5
France 2.2 East Asia ex-Japan 7.3
Germany 4.9
(1) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.
(2) Trade shares for Economic Groups refer to the country coverage of the
all employees series. The relevant trade shares for the production worker
series are: 33 Foreign Economies, 68.1; OECD, 59.8; Europe, 21.1; Euro Area,
15.0; Eastern Europe, 0.5; East Asia ex-Japan, 8.2.
(3) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(4) Euro Area consists of the European Union member countries in this
release that have adopted the euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
-15-
Data limitations
Because compensation is partly estimated, the statistics should not be
considered as precise measures of comparative compensation costs. In
addition, the figures are subject to revision as the results of new labor cost
surveys or other data used to estimate compensation costs become
available.
The comparative level figures in this report are averages for all
manufacturing industries and are not necessarily representative of all
component industries. In the United States and some other countries, such
as Mexico and Taiwan, differentials in hourly compensation cost levels by
industry are fairly wide.
Labor costs versus labor income
The hourly compensation figures in U.S. dollars shown in the tables
provide comparative measures of employer labor costs; they do not
provide inter-country comparisons of the purchasing power of worker
incomes. Prices of goods and services vary greatly among countries, and
the commercial market exchange rates used to compare employer labor
costs do not reliably indicate relative differences in prices. Purchasing
power parities, that is, the number of foreign currency units required to
buy goods and services equivalent to what can be purchased with one unit
of U.S. or another base currency, must be used for meaningful
international comparisons of the relative purchasing power of worker
incomes.
Total compensation converted to U.S. dollars at purchasing power
parities would provide one measure for comparing relative real levels of
labor income. It should be noted, however, that total compensation
includes employer payments to funds for the benefit of workers in
addition to payments made directly to workers. For some countries, the
compensation measures also include taxes or subsidies on payrolls or
employment even if they do not finance programs which directly benefit
workers. Payments into these funds provide either deferred income (for
example, payments to retirement funds), a type of insurance (for example,
payments to unemployment or health benefit funds), or current social
benefits (for example, family allowances), and the relationship between
employer payments and current or future worker benefits is indirect. On
the other hand, excluding these payments would understate the total value
of income derived from work because they substitute for worker savings
or self-insurance to cover retirement, medical costs, etc.
Total compensation, because it takes account of employer payments
into funds for the benefit of workers, is a broader income concept than
either total direct earnings or direct spendable earnings. An even broader
concept would take account of all social benefits available to workers,
including those financed out of general revenues as well as those financed
through employment or payroll taxes.
-16-
Table 1. All Employees: Indexes of hourly compensation costs in manufacturing, 32
countries or areas and selected economic groups, selected years, 1996-2007
Country or Area 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007
Americas
United States............. 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Argentina................. 33 34 33 11 15 18 22 26
Brazil.................... 32 29 17 11 13 17 20 23
Canada.................... 86 78 76 70 84 90 98 104
Mexico.................... 10 10 12 13 12 12 12 13
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 90 77 70 66 95 99 102 114
Israel.................... 51 53 52 46 47 47 48 52
Japan..................... 108 90 103 81 88 86 81 78
Korea, Republic of........ 41 28 38 36 42 48 55 60
New Zealand............... 57 45 38 37 52 56 54 63
Philippines............... 6 4 4 3 3 4 4 4
Singapore................. 54 50 47 45 45 44 46 50
Taiwan.................... 31 27 30 25 25 26 27 27
Europe
Austria................... 142 121 100 98 123 124 128 141
Belgium................... 124 107 89 88 114 113 116 127
Czech Republic............ 15 15 14 17 23 24 27 32
Denmark................... - 113 98 101 130 132 137 156
Finland................... 114 97 81 83 112 113 118 130
France.................... 127 109 88 85 109 108 112 123
Germany................... - 144 119 117 152 147 154 166
Hungary................... 17 16 14 19 26 27 28 34
Ireland................... 79 75 66 73 98 99 103 117
Italy..................... 94 83 67 68 93 93 96 105
Netherlands............... - 103 85 89 118 117 118 129
Norway.................... - 121 106 120 145 150 157 180
Poland.................... - 15 14 15 17 19 21 25
Portugal.................. 26 25 22 24 31 31 31 34
Slovakia.................. - 13 11 12 18 20 22 28
Spain..................... 69 60 50 51 69 69 72 80
Sweden.................... 116 103 89 85 113 110 114 127
Switzerland............... 149 123 100 104 123 121 121 125
United Kingdom............ 75 86 82 83 104 105 108 120
Trade-Weighted Measures (1,2)
All 31 Foreign Economies.. - 70 66 62 75 76 79 85
OECD (3).................. - 74 70 66 81 82 85 91
Europe.................... - 105 88 89 115 114 118 129
Euro Area (4)............. - 110 91 91 119 117 122 133
Eastern Europe (5)........ - 15 13 16 21 23 24 29
East Asia ex-Japan (6).... - 30 34 32 34 37 40 43
Dash means data not available.
(1) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(2) The trade-weighted measures for all employees in this table are not directly comparable
with those for production workers later in this release; the country coverage of
the two series differs slightly.
(3) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(4) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(5) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
(6) East Asia ex-Japan includes the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore,
and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-17-
Table 2. All Employees: Hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars in manufacturing,
32 countries or areas and selected economic groups, selected years, 1996-2007
Country or Area 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007
Americas
United States............. 22.11 23.12 24.63 27.01 28.94 29.74 29.98 30.56
Argentina................. 7.32 7.87 8.05 2.98 4.47 5.45 6.57 7.98
Brazil.................... 7.12 6.69 4.31 3.07 3.81 5.01 5.99 7.13
Canada.................... 19.01 18.08 18.68 18.78 24.20 26.73 29.27 31.91
Mexico.................... 2.32 2.37 2.89 3.44 3.34 3.57 3.72 3.91
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 19.86 17.82 17.12 17.94 27.45 29.44 30.48 34.75
Israel.................... 11.34 12.21 12.77 12.34 13.56 13.88 14.25 15.92
Japan..................... 23.93 20.83 25.34 21.75 25.59 25.56 24.32 23.95
Korea, Republic of........ 9.17 6.37 9.26 9.80 12.04 14.30 16.59 18.36
New Zealand............... 12.57 10.43 9.31 10.12 15.17 16.64 16.08 19.19
Philippines............... 1.27 0.92 0.90 0.90 0.97 1.06 1.21 1.37
Singapore................. 11.88 11.49 11.65 12.04 13.15 13.22 13.77 15.43
Taiwan.................... 6.91 6.31 7.35 6.84 7.26 7.87 8.11 8.15
Europe
Austria................... 31.45 28.06 24.57 26.34 35.65 36.91 38.26 43.17
Belgium................... 27.49 24.68 22.03 23.81 32.85 33.69 34.85 38.75
Czech Republic............ 3.42 3.54 3.39 4.60 6.55 7.28 8.14 9.67
Denmark................... - 26.04 24.07 27.33 37.53 39.20 41.18 47.54
Finland................... 25.12 22.45 19.90 22.52 32.51 33.73 35.28 39.74
France.................... 28.18 25.27 21.67 23.07 31.50 32.22 33.60 37.68
Germany................... - 33.29 29.26 31.59 43.94 43.58 46.14 50.73
Hungary................... 3.70 3.68 3.56 5.05 7.50 8.16 8.41 10.49
Ireland................... 17.52 17.28 16.32 19.69 28.41 29.44 30.74 35.62
Italy..................... 20.88 19.21 16.57 18.50 26.97 27.74 28.70 32.19
Netherlands............... - 23.79 20.97 24.15 34.09 34.79 35.50 39.47
Norway.................... - 28.01 26.16 32.29 41.92 44.61 47.17 55.03
Poland.................... - 3.50 3.40 4.05 4.81 5.68 6.29 7.69
Portugal.................. 5.81 5.73 5.42 6.40 8.96 9.30 9.38 10.29
Slovakia.................. - 2.92 2.62 3.27 5.23 5.85 6.62 8.49
Spain..................... 15.30 13.94 12.24 13.77 19.83 20.59 21.66 24.55
Sweden.................... 25.68 23.76 21.86 22.96 32.70 32.80 34.32 38.80
Switzerland............... 32.95 28.37 24.71 28.05 35.65 35.98 36.18 38.34
United Kingdom............ 16.48 19.94 20.11 22.37 30.05 31.27 32.50 36.66
Trade-Weighted Measures (1,2)
All 31 Foreign Economies.. - 16.18 16.24 16.64 21.59 22.63 23.77 25.93
OECD (3).................. - 17.22 17.31 17.83 23.31 24.41 25.63 27.96
Europe.................... - 24.22 21.79 24.08 33.27 33.86 35.32 39.41
Euro Area (4)............. - 25.41 22.39 24.64 34.50 34.93 36.53 40.71
Eastern Europe (5)........ - 3.44 3.32 4.33 5.99 6.73 7.33 9.01
East Asia ex-Japan (6).... - 6.99 8.47 8.61 9.85 10.95 12.04 13.12
Dash means data not available.
(1) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(2) The trade-weighted measures for all employees in this table are not directly comparable
with those for production workers later in this release; the country coverage of
the two series differs slightly.
(3) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(4) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(5) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
(6) East Asia ex-Japan includes the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore,
and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-18-
Table 3. All Employees: Annual percent change in hourly compensation costs in U.S.
dollars in manufacturing, 32 countries or areas and selected economic groups,
selected years, 1996-2007
Country or Area 1996- 1996- 2000- 2004 2005 2006 2007
2007(1) 2000 2007
Americas
United States............. 3.0 2.7 3.1 2.7 2.8 .8 1.9
Argentina................. .8 2.4 -.1 23.1 22.1 20.6 21.4
Brazil.................... .0 -11.8 7.5 18.1 31.7 19.5 19.0
Canada.................... 4.8 -.4 7.9 11.8 10.5 9.5 9.0
Mexico.................... 4.9 5.7 4.4 -.7 7.1 4.2 4.9
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 5.2 -3.6 10.6 18.4 7.2 3.5 14.0
Israel.................... 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.8 2.4 2.6 11.7
Japan..................... .0 1.4 -.8 7.9 -.1 -4.9 -1.5
Korea, Republic of........ 6.5 .2 10.3 11.2 18.8 16.0 10.7
New Zealand............... 3.9 -7.2 10.9 16.7 9.7 -3.4 19.4
Philippines............... .7 -8.2 6.1 6.8 9.5 14.2 13.0
Singapore................. 2.4 -.5 4.1 3.3 .5 4.2 12.0
Taiwan.................... 1.5 1.5 1.5 4.6 8.5 2.9 .6
Europe
Austria................... 2.9 -6.0 8.4 10.9 3.5 3.6 12.8
Belgium................... 3.2 -5.4 8.4 13.0 2.5 3.4 11.2
Czech Republic............ 9.9 -.2 16.2 16.4 11.1 11.7 18.9
Denmark................... 6.4 - 10.2 10.1 4.5 5.0 15.4
Finland................... 4.3 -5.7 10.4 15.5 3.8 4.6 12.6
France.................... 2.7 -6.4 8.2 11.9 2.3 4.3 12.1
Germany................... 4.8 - 8.2 12.7 -.8 5.9 9.9
Hungary................... 9.9 -1.0 16.7 19.4 8.8 3.0 24.7
Ireland................... 6.7 -1.8 11.8 15.4 3.6 4.4 15.9
Italy..................... 4.0 -5.6 9.9 15.9 2.8 3.5 12.2
Netherlands............... 5.4 - 9.5 12.6 2.0 2.1 11.2
Norway.................... 7.0 - 11.2 10.6 6.4 5.7 16.7
Poland.................... 9.1 - 12.3 9.9 18.0 10.7 22.3
Portugal.................. 5.3 -1.8 9.6 13.2 3.8 .8 9.7
Slovakia.................. 11.5 - 18.3 18.7 11.9 13.2 28.3
Spain..................... 4.4 -5.4 10.5 14.4 3.8 5.2 13.3
Sweden.................... 3.8 -3.9 8.5 13.3 .3 4.6 13.0
Switzerland............... 1.4 -6.9 6.5 8.7 .9 .5 6.0
United Kingdom............ 7.5 5.1 9.0 15.9 4.1 3.9 12.8
Trade-Weighted Measures (2,3)
All 31 Foreign Economies.. 3.9 - 6.5 9.6 6.7 5.5 8.5
OECD (4).................. 4.2 - 6.8 9.8 6.0 5.1 8.2
Europe.................... 4.8 - 9.1 13.5 2.3 4.3 12.0
Euro Area (5)............. 4.0 - 9.1 13.3 1.6 4.5 11.7
Eastern Europe (6)........ 9.9 - 15.3 15.2 13.0 9.3 23.0
East Asia ex-Japan (7).... 3.6 - 5.9 7.1 10.9 9.2 8.0
Rates of change based on compound rate method.
Dash means data not available.
(1) 1997-2007 data for Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Slovakia. 1998-2007
data for Germany.
(2) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(3) The trade-weighted measures for all employees in this table are not directly comparable
with those for production workers later in this release; the country coverage of
the two series differs slightly.
(4) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(5) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(6) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
(7) East Asia ex-Japan includes the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore,
and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-19-
Table 4. All Employees: Annual percent change in hourly compensation costs in national
currency in manufacturing, 32 countries or areas and selected economic groups,
selected years, 1996-2007
Country or Area 1996- 1996- 2000- 2004 2005 2006 2007
2007(1) 2000 2007
Americas
United States............. 3.0 2.7 3.1 2.7 2.8 .8 1.9
Argentina................. 11.7 2.4 17.4 24.0 21.3 26.8 22.7
Brazil.................... 6.2 2.4 8.4 12.4 9.6 6.7 6.5
Canada.................... 2.6 1.7 3.1 3.9 2.8 2.5 3.2
Mexico.................... 8.4 11.6 6.6 3.9 3.4 4.3 5.1
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 4.6 3.8 5.0 4.9 3.6 4.8 2.4
Israel.................... 5.7 9.6 3.5 2.6 2.5 1.9 3.6
Japan..................... .7 1.2 .5 .7 1.7 .5 -.3
Korea, Republic of........ 7.9 9.2 7.2 6.9 6.3 8.1 7.7
New Zealand............... 3.3 2.8 3.6 2.3 3.4 4.9 5.2
Philippines............... 6.1 4.7 7.0 10.5 7.7 6.2 3.1
Singapore................. 3.0 4.7 2.1 .1 -1.0 -.6 6.3
Taiwan.................... 3.2 4.9 2.2 1.4 4.5 4.1 1.6
Europe
Austria................... 2.4 2.4 2.5 1.0 3.5 2.7 3.4
Belgium................... 2.7 3.1 2.4 2.9 2.5 2.5 1.9
Czech Republic............ 7.1 8.7 6.1 6.1 3.6 5.4 8.1
Denmark................... 4.3 - 4.1 -.8 4.6 4.1 5.7
Finland................... 3.7 2.7 4.3 5.1 3.7 3.6 3.2
France.................... 2.0 1.7 2.3 1.8 2.2 3.4 2.7
Germany................... 2.5 - 2.3 2.7 -.9 4.9 .7
Hungary................... 12.1 16.1 9.8 7.9 7.1 8.6 9.7
Ireland................... 5.9 6.3 5.7 5.1 3.5 3.5 6.2
Italy..................... 3.2 1.9 3.9 5.4 2.7 2.5 2.8
Netherlands............... 3.4 - 3.5 2.6 2.0 1.1 1.9
Norway.................... 4.9 - 4.7 5.1 1.7 5.2 6.6
Poland.................... 7.4 - 5.5 3.4 4.4 6.2 10.4
Portugal.................. 4.8 7.0 3.5 3.5 3.7 -.1 .5
Slovakia.................. 8.2 - 8.4 4.1 7.6 8.0 7.9
Spain..................... 4.0 3.2 4.4 4.2 3.7 4.3 3.8
Sweden.................... 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.1 2.0 3.2 3.6
Switzerland............... 1.1 .6 1.4 .5 1.2 1.1 1.5
United Kingdom............ 5.1 5.9 4.7 3.4 4.7 2.6 3.9
Trade-Weighted Measures(2,3)
All 31 Foreign Economies.. 4.2 - 3.8 3.6 3.0 3.3 3.4
OECD (4).................. 4.1 - 3.7 3.4 2.7 3.2 3.2
Europe.................... 3.8 - 3.4 3.1 2.2 3.3 2.8
Euro Area (5)............. 3.4 - 3.1 3.2 1.5 3.5 2.3
Eastern Europe (6)........ 9.7 - 7.2 5.3 5.4 6.9 9.3
East Asia ex-Japan (7).... 5.3 - 4.6 4.0 4.3 4.8 5.1
Rates of change based on compound rate method.
Dash means data not available.
(1) 1997-2007 data for Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Slovakia. 1998-2007
data for Germany.
(2) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(3) The trade-weighted measures for all employees in this table are not directly comparable
with those for production workers later in this release; the country coverage of
the two series differs slightly.
(4) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(5) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(6) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
(7) East Asia ex-Japan includes the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore,
and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-20-
Table 5. All Employees: Annual percent change in exchange rates (U.S. dollars per
national currency unit), 32 countries or areas and selected economic groups,
selected years, 1996-2007
Country or Area 1996- 1996- 2000- 2004 2005 2006 2007
2007(1) 2000 2007
Americas
United States............. - - - - - - -
Argentina................. -9.7 .0 -14.9 -.8 .7 -4.9 -1.1
Brazil.................... -5.8 -13.9 -.9 5.1 20.2 12.0 11.7
Canada.................... 2.2 -2.1 4.8 7.6 7.4 6.8 5.6
Mexico.................... -3.2 -5.3 -2.0 -4.4 3.6 -.1 -.2
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. .6 -7.2 5.4 12.9 3.6 -1.2 11.4
Israel.................... -2.3 -5.9 -.2 1.6 -.1 .7 7.8
Japan..................... -.7 .2 -1.3 7.2 -1.8 -5.3 -1.2
Korea, Republic of........ -1.3 -8.2 2.8 4.1 11.9 7.3 2.7
New Zealand............... .6 -9.7 7.1 14.1 6.1 -7.9 13.4
Philippines............... -5.2 -12.3 -.8 -3.3 1.7 7.5 9.5
Singapore................. -.6 -4.9 2.0 3.1 1.6 4.8 5.4
Taiwan.................... -1.6 -3.2 -.7 3.1 3.9 -1.2 -1.1
Europe
Austria................... .5 -8.2 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
Belgium................... .5 -8.2 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
Czech Republic............ 2.6 -8.4 9.4 9.8 7.3 6.0 10.0
Denmark................... 2.0 - 5.8 9.8 -.1 .9 9.2
Finland................... .5 -8.1 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
France.................... .6 -7.9 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
Germany................... 2.4 - 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
Hungary................... -1.7 -14.2 6.2 10.6 1.6 -5.1 13.6
Ireland................... .8 -7.5 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
Italy..................... .8 -7.4 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
Netherlands............... 2.0 - 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
Norway.................... 1.9 - 6.0 5.1 4.6 .5 9.5
Poland.................... 1.6 - 6.5 6.3 13.0 4.3 10.7
Portugal.................. .5 -8.2 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
Slovakia.................. 3.0 - 9.2 14.0 4.0 4.8 18.8
Spain..................... .4 -8.4 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.1
Sweden.................... -.1 -7.5 4.5 10.0 -1.6 1.3 9.1
Switzerland............... .3 -7.5 5.0 8.2 -.2 -.6 4.4
United Kingdom............ 2.3 -.7 4.1 12.1 -.6 1.3 8.5
Trade-Weighted Measures (2,3)
All 31 Foreign Economies.. -.3 - 2.6 5.8 3.5 2.1 4.9
OECD (4).................. .1 - 3.0 6.2 3.2 1.9 4.9
Europe.................... 1.0 - 5.5 10.1 .1 .9 8.9
Euro Area (5)............. .6 - 5.8 9.9 .1 .9 9.2
Eastern Europe (6)........ .3 - 7.5 9.4 7.3 2.3 12.5
East Asia ex-Japan (7).... -1.6 - 1.2 2.9 6.3 4.1 2.7
Rates of change based on compound rate method.
Dash means data not available.
(1) 1997-2007 data for Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Slovakia. 1998-2007
data for Germany.
(2) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(3) The trade-weighted measures for all employees in this table are not directly comparable
with those for production workers later in this release; the country coverage of
the two series differs slightly.
(4) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(5) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(6) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
(7) East Asia ex-Japan includes the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore,
and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-21-
Table 6. All Employees: Hourly compensation costs in national currency units and
exchange rates, 32 countries or areas, 2007
Country or Area Compensation costs Exchange Rates
Americas
United States............. 30.56 1.000
Argentina................. 24.64 3.089
Brazil.................... 13.87 1.946
Canada.................... 34.25 1.073
Mexico.................... 42.70 10.93
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 41.41 1.192
Israel.................... 65.79 4.133
Japan..................... 2820 117.8
Korea, Republic of........ 17053 929.0
New Zealand............... 26.06 1.358
Philippines............... 63.91 46.79
Singapore................. 23.24 1.507
Taiwan.................... 267.8 32.85
Europe
Austria................... 31.49 .7293
Belgium................... 28.26 .7293
Czech Republic............ 198.7 20.54
Denmark................... 258.7 5.441
Finland................... 28.98 .7293
France.................... 27.48 .7293
Germany................... 37.00 .7293
Hungary................... 1942 185.2
Ireland................... 25.98 .7293
Italy..................... 23.48 .7293
Netherlands............... 28.79 .7293
Norway.................... 322.2 5.856
Poland.................... 21.55 2.802
Portugal.................. 7.50 .7293
Slovakia.................. 211.7 24.92
Spain..................... 17.91 .7293
Sweden.................... 262.1 6.755
Switzerland............... 46.00 1.200
United Kingdom............ 18.31 .4995
Dash means data not available.
National currency units are: United States, dollar; Argentina, peso;
Brazil, real; Canada, dollar; Mexico, peso; Australia, dollar;
Israel, new shekel; Japan, yen; Korea, won; New Zealand, dollar;
Philippines, peso; Singapore, dollar; Taiwan, dollar; Austria, euro;
Belgium, euro; Czech Republic, koruna; Denmark, krone; Finland, euro;
France, euro; Germany, euro; Hungary, forint; Ireland, euro;
Italy, euro; Netherlands, euro; Norway, krone; Poland, zloty;
Portugal, euro; Slovakia, koruna; Spain, euro; Sweden, krona;
Switzerland, franc; United Kingdom, pound.
Note: For data for all years 1975-2007, see the supplementary tables to this
news release at http://www.bls.gov/ilc.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-22-
Table 7. Production Workers: Indexes of hourly compensation costs in manufacturing,
34 countries or areas and selected economic groups, selected years, 1975-2007
Country or Area 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004 2005 2006 2007
Americas
United States............. 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Brazil.................... - - - - - 18 14 17 21 24
Canada.................... 102 92 89 111 97 84 96 102 109 118
Mexico.................... 23 22 12 10 10 10 11 11 11 12
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 92 89 65 90 90 73 103 107 110 123
Hong Kong SAR (1)......... 12 15 13 21 28 27 24 24 24 24
Israel.................... 32 34 28 50 53 56 51 51 52 57
Japan..................... 47 56 48 83 134 109 94 90 83 80
Korea, Republic of........ 5 10 9 24 41 41 45 52 60 65
New Zealand............... 52 56 35 57 60 42 59 63 60 70
Philippines............... - - - - 5 4 3 4 4 4
Singapore................. 14 16 20 25 44 37 32 31 36 34
Sri Lanka................. 4 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2
Taiwan.................... 6 11 12 26 34 31 26 27 27 27
Europe
Austria................... 73 93 60 120 148 101 126 127 130 144
Belgium................... 92 120 64 119 148 101 130 129 132 144
Czech Republic............ - - - - 15 14 24 26 28 33
Denmark................... 100 111 62 122 143 108 145 146 152 172
Finland................... 82 89 65 140 133 89 122 121 124 139
France.................... 90 103 63 109 115 80 104 103 105 116
Germany................... - - - - 173 114 143 140 142 153
Greece.................... 27 38 28 45 52 38 63 64 66 73
Hungary................... - - - - 17 14 25 26 26 32
Ireland................... 59 69 50 84 85 69 102 103 106 118
Italy..................... 75 84 60 120 96 73 102 102 104 115
Luxembourg................ 100 118 58 106 135 88 114 115 115 124
Netherlands............... 105 124 68 120 138 94 128 126 127 139
Norway.................... 115 126 85 151 149 118 160 165 173 197
Poland.................... - - - - - 14 17 19 21 25
Portugal.................. 24 20 11 24 29 23 32 31 31 34
Spain..................... 40 59 35 74 72 53 73 74 77 85
Sweden.................... 114 127 74 138 124 104 130 128 132 147
Switzerland............... 98 114 75 139 168 107 132 130 128 134
United Kingdom............ 51 74 46 80 76 82 105 107 109 121
Trade-Weighted Measures (2,3)
All 33 Foreign Economies.. 64 69 52 81 87 68 79 80 82 88
OECD (4).................. 69 74 56 86 93 74 86 87 89 96
Europe.................... 82 100 61 114 124 90 118 117 118 131
Euro Area (5)............. 85 103 62 118 133 91 121 119 121 133
Eastern Europe (6)........ - - - - - 14 21 23 25 30
East Asia ex-Japan (7).... 8 12 13 25 36 33 32 34 38 39
Dash means data not available.
(1) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
(2) The trade-weighted measures for production workers in this table are not directly
comparable with those for all employees earlier in this release; the country coverage
of the two series differs slightly.
(3) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(4) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(5) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(6) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.
(7) East Asia ex-Japan includes Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines,
Singapore, and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-23-
Table 8. Production Workers: Hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars in manufacturing,
34 countries or areas and selected economic groups, selected years, 1975-2007
Country or Area 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2004 2005 2006 2007
Americas
United States............. 6.24 9.75 12.87 15.00 17.39 19.88 23.12 23.81 24.15 24.59
Brazil.................... - - - - - 3.50 3.14 4.16 5.01 5.96
Canada.................... 6.40 9.02 11.39 16.62 16.80 16.78 22.25 24.40 26.28 28.91
Mexico.................... 1.43 2.15 1.55 1.54 1.70 2.07 2.45 2.65 2.77 2.92
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 5.75 8.67 8.41 13.45 15.58 14.51 23.79 25.53 26.46 30.17
Hong Kong SAR (1)......... 0.75 1.50 1.73 3.22 4.81 5.45 5.51 5.65 5.78 5.78
Israel.................... 1.99 3.34 3.59 7.56 9.23 11.16 11.85 12.13 12.45 13.91
Japan..................... 2.95 5.43 6.24 12.52 23.34 21.69 21.65 21.31 19.99 19.75
Korea, Republic of........ 0.31 0.93 1.20 3.59 7.14 8.08 10.50 12.48 14.48 16.02
New Zealand............... 3.27 5.44 4.55 8.48 10.35 8.38 13.65 14.97 14.47 17.27
Philippines............... - - - - 0.94 0.73 0.78 0.85 0.98 1.10
Singapore................. 0.85 1.55 2.57 3.81 7.72 7.34 7.50 7.34 8.68 8.35
Sri Lanka................. 0.28 0.22 0.28 0.35 0.48 0.48 0.52 0.54 0.57 0.61
Taiwan.................... 0.39 1.05 1.51 3.91 5.99 6.19 5.97 6.42 6.56 6.58
Europe
Austria................... 4.59 9.03 7.71 18.04 25.67 20.13 29.19 30.20 31.30 35.33
Belgium................... 5.76 11.74 8.21 17.85 25.70 20.15 30.05 30.83 31.90 35.45
Czech Republic............ - - - - 2.54 2.85 5.48 6.08 6.83 8.20
Denmark................... 6.23 10.83 8.03 18.29 24.87 21.45 33.53 34.88 36.67 42.29
Finland................... 5.09 8.66 8.35 20.97 23.05 17.73 28.11 28.69 30.07 34.18
France.................... 5.61 10.06 8.04 16.31 20.06 15.98 23.98 24.56 25.47 28.57
Germany................... - - - - 30.10 22.66 33.14 33.38 34.26 37.66
Greece.................... 1.69 3.73 3.66 6.71 9.04 7.63 14.52 15.17 15.96 18.03
Hungary................... - - - - 2.98 2.78 5.69 6.13 6.30 7.91
Ireland................... 3.66 6.72 6.49 12.63 14.77 13.66 23.62 24.51 25.68 29.04
Italy..................... 4.70 8.21 7.67 17.92 16.69 14.53 23.66 24.33 25.17 28.23
Luxembourg................ 6.23 11.52 7.45 15.94 23.54 17.49 26.30 27.36 27.83 30.60
Netherlands............... 6.58 12.05 8.73 17.98 24.02 18.68 29.58 30.02 30.64 34.07
Norway.................... 7.20 12.32 10.93 22.71 25.95 23.50 36.97 39.34 41.69 48.56
Poland.................... - - - - - 2.81 3.85 4.53 5.05 6.17
Portugal.................. 1.50 1.96 1.45 3.55 5.09 4.64 7.32 7.42 7.53 8.27
Spain..................... 2.47 5.75 4.55 11.10 12.47 10.46 16.94 17.59 18.51 20.98
Sweden.................... 7.12 12.41 9.58 20.75 21.63 20.70 30.12 30.50 31.85 36.03
Switzerland............... 6.09 11.09 9.66 20.85 29.23 21.20 30.57 30.86 31.03 32.88
United Kingdom............ 3.21 7.22 5.97 11.95 13.24 16.31 24.37 25.36 26.36 29.73
Trade-Weighted Measures (2,3)
All 33 Foreign Economies.. 4.01 6.69 6.74 12.08 15.11 13.62 18.18 19.03 19.77 21.66
OECD (4).................. 4.32 7.20 7.21 12.86 16.10 14.68 19.88 20.80 21.57 23.68
Europe.................... 5.11 9.76 7.85 17.03 21.55 17.83 27.26 27.82 28.61 32.12
Euro Area (5)............. 5.33 10.07 8.01 17.63 23.08 18.10 27.96 28.40 29.12 32.71
Eastern Europe (6)........ - - - - - 2.81 4.87 5.45 5.93 7.27
East Asia ex-Japan (7).... 0.50 1.16 1.64 3.69 6.20 6.56 7.37 8.17 9.17 9.65
Dash means data not available.
(1) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
(2) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(3) The trade-weighted measures for production workers in this table are not directly
comparable with those for all employees earlier in this release; the country coverage
of the two series differs slightly.
(4) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(5) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(6) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.
(7) East Asia ex-Japan includes Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines,
Singapore, and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-24-
Table 9. Production Workers: Annual percent change in hourly compensation costs in
U.S. dollars in manufacturing, 34 countries or areas and selected economic
groups, selected years, 1975-2007
Country or Area 1975- 1975- 1980- 1985- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2005 2006 2007
2007 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2007
Americas
United States............. 4.4 9.3 5.7 3.1 3.0 2.7 3.1 3.0 1.4 1.8
Brazil.................... - - - - - - 7.9 32.5 20.3 19.0
Canada.................... 4.8 7.1 4.8 7.8 .2 .0 8.1 9.7 7.7 10.0
Mexico.................... 2.3 8.5 -6.3 -.2 2.0 4.1 5.0 8.2 4.5 5.5
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 5.3 8.6 -.6 9.9 3.0 -1.4 11.0 7.3 3.6 14.0
Hong Kong SAR (1)......... 6.6 14.8 2.8 13.2 8.4 2.5 .8 2.6 2.4 -.1
Israel.................... 6.3 11.0 1.4 16.1 4.1 3.9 3.2 2.4 2.6 11.7
Japan..................... 6.1 13.0 2.8 14.9 13.3 -1.5 -1.3 -1.6 -6.2 -1.2
Korea, Republic of........ 13.1 24.3 5.2 24.6 14.7 2.5 10.3 18.8 16.0 10.7
New Zealand............... 5.3 10.7 -3.5 13.3 4.1 -4.2 10.9 9.7 -3.4 19.4
Philippines............... - - - - - -4.9 6.1 9.5 14.2 13.0
Singapore................. 7.4 12.9 10.6 8.2 15.1 -1.0 1.8 -2.0 18.3 -3.9
Sri Lanka................. 2.4 -5.0 5.2 4.7 6.4 .0 3.5 4.7 4.5 7.0
Taiwan.................... 9.2 21.8 7.7 21.0 8.9 .7 .9 7.5 2.2 .2
Europe
Austria................... 6.6 14.5 -3.1 18.5 7.3 -4.7 8.4 3.5 3.6 12.8
Belgium................... 5.8 15.3 -6.9 16.8 7.6 -4.8 8.4 2.6 3.5 11.2
Czech Republic............ - - - - - 2.3 16.3 10.9 12.4 20.1
Denmark................... 6.2 11.7 -5.8 17.9 6.3 -2.9 10.2 4.0 5.2 15.3
Finland................... 6.1 11.2 -.7 20.2 1.9 -5.1 9.8 2.1 4.8 13.7
France.................... 5.2 12.4 -4.4 15.2 4.2 -4.5 8.7 2.4 3.7 12.2
Germany................... - - - - - -5.5 7.5 .8 2.6 9.9
Greece.................... 7.7 17.2 -.4 12.9 6.1 -3.3 13.1 4.5 5.2 13.0
Hungary................... - - - - - -1.3 16.1 7.8 2.7 25.6
Ireland................... 6.7 12.9 -.7 14.2 3.2 -1.5 11.4 3.8 4.8 13.1
Italy..................... 5.8 11.8 -1.4 18.5 -1.4 -2.7 9.9 2.8 3.5 12.2
Luxembourg................ 5.1 13.1 -8.3 16.4 8.1 -5.8 8.3 4.0 1.7 10.0
Netherlands............... 5.3 12.9 -6.2 15.6 6.0 -4.9 9.0 1.5 2.1 11.2
Norway.................... 6.1 11.3 -2.4 15.8 2.7 -2.0 10.9 6.4 6.0 16.5
Poland.................... - - - - - - 11.9 17.5 11.4 22.2
Portugal.................. 5.5 5.4 -5.8 19.6 7.5 -1.9 8.6 1.3 1.6 9.7
Spain..................... 6.9 18.4 -4.6 19.5 2.4 -3.5 10.5 3.8 5.2 13.3
Sweden.................... 5.2 11.8 -5.0 16.7 .8 -.9 8.2 1.3 4.4 13.2
Switzerland............... 5.4 12.7 -2.7 16.6 7.0 -6.2 6.5 .9 .5 6.0
United Kingdom............ 7.2 17.6 -3.7 14.9 2.1 4.2 9.0 4.1 3.9 12.8
Trade-Weighted Measures (2,3)
All 33 Foreign Economies.. 5.6 11.8 .0 11.6 4.9 -.3 6.3 5.6 4.3 8.0
OECD (4).................. 5.4 11.4 -.6 11.2 4.4 -.4 6.8 5.8 4.0 8.7
Europe.................... 6.1 14.0 -4.1 16.6 4.6 -2.9 8.9 2.2 3.0 12.2
Euro Area (5)............. 5.9 13.5 -4.2 17.0 5.2 -4.4 9.0 1.8 2.7 12.3
Eastern Europe (6)........ - - - - - - 14.4 12.7 9.1 22.7
East Asia ex-Japan (7).... 10.0 20.0 6.8 18.7 12.3 0.8 4.7 9.1 10.9 3.9
Rates of change based on compound rate method.
Dash means data not available.
(1) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
(2) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(3) The trade-weighted measures for production workers in this table are not directly
comparable with those for all employees earlier in this release; the country coverage
of the two series differs slightly.
(4) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(5) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(6) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.
(7) East Asia ex-Japan includes Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines,
Singapore, and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-25-
Table 10. Production Workers: Annual percent change in hourly compensation costs in
national currency in manufacturing, 34 countries or areas and selected economic
groups, selected years, 1975-2007
Country or Area 1975- 1975- 1980- 1985- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2005 2006 2007
2007 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2007
Americas
United States............. 4.4 9.3 5.7 3.1 3.0 2.7 3.1 3.0 1.4 1.8
Brazil.................... - - - - - - 8.8 10.3 7.4 6.5
Canada.................... 5.0 10.1 8.1 4.5 3.5 1.6 3.2 2.1 .8 4.1
Mexico.................... 26.4 22.5 51.8 61.1 20.3 12.4 7.2 4.4 4.6 5.7
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 6.8 11.6 9.6 7.5 4.1 3.5 5.4 3.6 4.9 2.4
Hong Kong SAR (1)......... 8.1 14.9 12.5 13.2 8.2 2.7 .9 2.4 2.2 .4
Israel.................... 39.9 68.3 201.0 29.2 12.8 10.5 3.5 2.5 1.9 3.6
Japan..................... 3.1 7.0 3.9 4.1 3.8 1.2 -.1 .2 -.9 .0
Korea, Republic of........ 15.4 30.0 13.2 19.6 16.7 10.7 7.2 6.3 8.1 7.7
New Zealand............... 7.0 15.7 10.3 9.2 2.1 3.0 3.6 3.4 4.9 5.2
Philippines............... - - - - - 5.9 7.0 7.7 6.2 3.1
Singapore................. 5.9 10.6 11.2 4.1 9.6 3.0 -.1 -3.6 12.9 -8.8
Sri Lanka................. 11.7 12.7 16.2 13.1 11.7 8.5 9.0 3.9 8.1 13.8
Taiwan.................... 8.7 20.5 9.8 11.8 8.5 4.1 1.6 3.5 3.4 1.3
Europe
Austria................... 4.8 7.9 6.4 5.1 4.8 3.0 2.4 3.4 2.7 3.4
Belgium................... 5.1 10.1 7.3 4.1 4.9 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 1.9
Czech Republic............ - - - - - 10.1 6.3 3.4 6.0 9.2
Denmark................... 6.1 11.3 6.9 6.3 4.2 4.5 4.1 4.1 4.2 5.6
Finland................... 6.7 11.5 10.0 9.2 4.7 2.5 3.8 2.0 3.8 4.1
France.................... 5.6 12.0 11.2 4.2 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.4 2.7 2.8
Germany................... - - - - - 2.3 1.6 .7 1.7 .7
Greece.................... 14.8 23.9 26.1 16.0 14.5 5.9 7.0 4.4 4.2 3.5
Hungary................... - - - - - 16.1 9.3 6.1 8.3 10.6
Ireland................... 7.5 14.7 13.3 4.6 3.9 4.9 5.3 3.7 3.8 3.6
Italy..................... 8.3 18.0 15.8 7.9 4.9 2.3 3.9 2.7 2.5 2.8
Luxembourg................ 4.4 8.0 5.6 3.8 5.4 1.9 2.4 3.9 .8 .7
Netherlands............... 3.8 7.6 3.9 2.5 3.3 2.9 3.1 1.4 1.1 1.9
Norway.................... 6.5 10.1 8.9 8.7 3.1 4.6 4.5 1.7 5.5 6.4
Poland.................... - - - - - - 5.1 3.9 6.9 10.4
Portugal.................. 11.4 20.7 20.5 15.2 8.6 5.6 2.6 1.2 .7 .5
Spain..................... 9.4 23.8 13.4 7.8 6.5 3.9 4.4 3.7 4.3 3.8
Sweden.................... 6.8 12.2 9.5 8.3 4.8 4.2 3.7 3.0 3.0 3.7
Switzerland............... 2.9 3.4 5.0 4.1 3.6 .7 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.5
United Kingdom............ 7.5 16.5 8.1 7.8 4.6 5.0 4.7 4.7 2.6 3.9
Trade-Weighted Measures (2,3)
All 33 Foreign Economies.. 9.8 14.7 18.7 15.5 7.7 4.5 3.5 2.4 2.4 3.3
OECD (4).................. 9.4 13.5 15.7 15.7 7.5 4.5 3.8 2.5 2.1 3.7
Europe.................... 5.9 11.8 8.4 5.7 4.4 3.1 3.3 2.2 2.0 3.1
Euro Area (5)............. 5.7 11.3 8.7 5.1 4.5 2.8 3.0 1.7 1.8 2.9
Eastern Europe (6)........ - - - - - - 6.7 4.4 7.1 10.1
East Asia ex-Japan (7).... 10.6 21.3 11.7 13.3 11.8 6.1 3.5 3.3 6.9 1.6
Rates of change based on compound rate method.
Dash means data not available.
(1) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
(2) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(3) The trade-weighted measures for production workers in this table are not directly
comparable with those for all employees earlier in this release; the country coverage
of the two series differs slightly.
(4) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(5) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(6) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.
(7) East Asia ex-Japan includes Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines,
Singapore, and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-26-
Table 11. Production Workers: Annual percent change in exchange rates (U.S. dollars
per national currency unit), 34 countries or areas and selected economic groups,
selected years, 1975-2007
Country or Area 1975- 1975- 1980- 1985- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2005 2006 2007
2007 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2007
Americas
United States............. - - - - - - - - - -
Brazil.................... - - - - - - -.9 20.2 12.0 11.7
Canada.................... -.2 -2.7 -3.1 3.2 -3.2 -1.6 4.8 7.4 6.8 5.6
Mexico.................... -19.1 -11.5 -38.3 -38.0 -15.2 -7.5 -2.0 3.6 -.1 -.2
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. -1.4 -2.7 -9.3 2.2 -1.0 -4.7 5.4 3.6 -1.2 11.4
Hong Kong SAR (1)......... -1.4 -.1 -8.6 .0 .1 -.1 .0 .1 .1 -.4
Israel.................... -24.0 -34.1 -66.3 -10.2 -7.7 -5.9 -.2 -.1 .7 7.8
Japan..................... 2.9 5.6 -1.1 10.5 9.1 -2.7 -1.3 -1.8 -5.3 -1.2
Korea, Republic of........ -2.0 -4.4 -6.9 4.2 -1.7 -7.4 2.8 11.9 7.3 2.7
New Zealand............... -1.5 -4.3 -12.6 3.7 1.9 -7.0 7.1 6.1 -7.9 13.4
Philippines............... - - - - - -10.3 -.8 1.7 7.5 9.5
Singapore................. 1.4 2.1 -.5 3.9 5.1 -3.9 2.0 1.6 4.8 5.4
Sri Lanka................. -8.2 -15.7 -9.5 -7.5 -4.8 -7.8 -5.0 .7 -3.3 -6.0
Taiwan.................... .5 1.1 -2.0 8.2 .3 -3.3 -.7 3.9 -1.2 -1.1
Europe
Austria................... 1.7 6.1 -9.0 12.8 2.4 -7.5 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Belgium................... .7 4.7 -13.2 12.2 2.5 -7.6 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Czech Republic............ - - - - - -7.2 9.4 7.3 6.0 10.0
Denmark................... .2 .4 -11.9 11.4 2.0 -7.1 5.8 -.1 .9 9.2
Finland................... -.5 -.3 -9.7 10.1 -2.6 -7.4 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
France.................... -.3 .3 -14.0 10.5 1.8 -6.8 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Germany................... - - - - - -7.5 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Greece.................... -6.2 -5.4 -21.0 -2.7 -7.3 -8.7 5.7 .1 .9 9.1
Hungary................... - - - - - -14.9 6.2 1.6 -5.1 13.6
Ireland................... -.8 -1.5 -12.3 9.2 -.7 -6.1 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Italy..................... -2.4 -5.3 -14.8 9.8 -6.0 -4.9 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Luxembourg................ .7 4.7 -13.2 12.2 2.5 -7.6 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Netherlands............... 1.4 4.9 -9.8 12.7 2.6 -7.6 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Norway.................... -.4 1.1 -10.5 6.6 -.3 -6.4 6.0 4.6 .5 9.5
Poland.................... - - - - - - 6.5 13.0 4.3 10.7
Portugal.................. -5.3 -12.7 -21.9 3.8 -1.0 -7.1 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Spain..................... -2.3 -4.3 -15.9 10.8 -3.9 -7.1 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Sweden.................... -1.5 -.4 -13.2 7.8 -3.7 -4.9 4.5 -1.6 1.3 9.1
Switzerland............... 2.4 9.0 -7.4 12.0 3.3 -6.9 5.0 -.2 -.6 4.4
United Kingdom............ -.3 .9 -11.0 6.6 -2.4 -.8 4.1 -.6 1.3 8.5
Trade-Weighted Measures (2,3)
All 33 Foreign Economies.. -3.3 -2.0 -12.6 -.4 -2.3 -4.5 2.7 3.0 1.8 4.6
OECD (4).................. -3.1 -1.6 -12.3 -.7 -2.5 -4.6 3.0 3.2 1.9 4.8
Europe.................... .2 2.2 -11.5 10.4 .2 -5.9 5.4 .0 .9 8.8
Euro Area (5)............. .2 2.2 -11.8 11.3 .7 -7.0 5.8 .1 .9 9.1
Eastern Europe (6)........ - - - - - - 7.2 7.9 1.9 11.4
East Asia ex-Japan (7).... -.5 -.9 -4.4 4.8 .5 -4.9 1.1 5.6 3.7 2.3
Rates of change based on compound rate method.
Dash means data not available.
(1) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
(2) For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see the Technical
Notes preceding these tables.
(3) The trade-weighted measures for production workers in this table are not directly
comparable with those for all employees earlier in this release; the country coverage
of the two series differs slightly.
(4) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(5) Euro Area refers to European Union member countries in this release that have adopted
the Euro as the common currency as of January 1, 2009.
(6) Eastern Europe refers to the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.
(7) East Asia ex-Japan includes Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines,
Singapore, and Taiwan.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
-27-
Table 12. Production Workers: Hourly compensation costs in national currency units
and exchange rates, 34 countries or areas, 2007
Country or Area Compensation costs Exchange Rates
Americas
United States............. 24.59 1.000
Brazil.................... 11.60 1.946
Canada.................... 31.03 1.073
Mexico.................... 31.90 10.93
Asia and Oceania
Australia................. 35.96 1.192
Hong Kong SAR (1)......... 45.09 7.802
Israel.................... 57.48 4.133
Japan..................... 2326 117.8
Korea, Republic of........ 14883 929.0
New Zealand............... 23.45 1.358
Philippines............... 51.59 46.79
Singapore................. 12.58 1.507
Sri Lanka................. 67.13 110.6
Taiwan.................... 216.0 32.85
Europe
Austria................... 25.76 .7293
Belgium................... 25.86 .7293
Czech Republic............ 168.5 20.54
Denmark................... 230.1 5.441
Finland................... 24.93 .7293
France.................... 20.84 .7293
Germany................... 27.46 .7293
Greece.................... 13.15 .7293
Hungary................... 1465 185.2
Ireland................... 21.18 .7293
Italy..................... 20.59 .7293
Luxembourg................ 22.32 .7293
Netherlands............... 24.85 .7293
Norway.................... 284.4 5.856
Poland.................... 17.28 2.802
Portugal.................. 6.03 .7293
Spain..................... 15.30 .7293
Sweden.................... 243.4 6.755
Switzerland............... 39.46 1.200
United Kingdom............ 14.85 .4995
Dash means data not available.
(1) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
National currency units are: United States, dollar; Brazil, real;
Canada, dollar; Mexico, peso; Australia, dollar; Hong Kong SAR, dollar;
Israel, new shekel; Japan, yen; Republic of Korea, won; New Zealand, dollar;
Philippines, peso; Singapore, dollar; Sri Lanka, rupee; Taiwan, dollar;
Austria, euro; Belgium, euro; Czech Republic, koruna; Denmark, krone;
Finland, euro; France, euro; Germany, euro; Greece, euro; Hungary, forint;
Ireland, euro; Italy, euro; Luxembourg, euro; Netherlands, euro;
Norway, krone; Poland, zloty; Portugal, euro; Spain, euro; Sweden, krona;
Switzerland, franc; United Kingdom, pound.
Note: For data for all years 1975-2007, see the supplementary tables to this
news release at http://www.bls.gov/ilc.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009.
United States Department of Labor
