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.) 

News United States

Department 

of Labor 

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1998 2001 2004 2007

East Asia ex-Japan1

Chart 1. Hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars for

all employees in manufacturing, 1998-2007

Euro Area 1

Canada All 31 Foreign Economies 1

United States

Eastern Europe 1

Mexico

Hourly 

costs ($)

Japan

1 Trade-weighted average
- 2 - 

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 expressed in U.S. dollars

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.) 

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 

1 For 2007, U.S. hourly compensation costs were $30.56. 2 Trade-weighted average

Chart 2. Indexes of hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars

for all employees in manufacturing, 2007

(U.S. = 100)

United States 1 Canada Mexico Euro Area 2 Eastern Europe 2 East Asia 

ex-Japan 2

All 31 foreign 

economies 2

100

50

Japan
- 3 - 

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. 

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.
- 4 - 

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.) 

Exchange rates

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. 

 
- 5 - 

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 

Country or area

Hourly 

compensation,

national

currency

Exchange

rates

Hourly 

compensation,

U.S.

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.
- 6 - 

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. 

Compensation costs for production workers

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 

separately.

 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

Year National currency 

basis (Yuan) 

U.S. dollar 

basis (US$)

Index1 

(United States = 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.
- 7 - 

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 nonproduction 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. 

 
- 8 - 

Table B. Hourly Compensation Costs of All Employees and Production Workers 

in Manufacturing, 2007

Country or area

US=100 US$ Production 

Workers (All 

Employees

= 100)

All 

Employees

Production 

Workers

All

Employees

Production 

Workers

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 SAR1 - 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 - 

 For further information, contact the Division of International Labor Comparisons by phone 

at 202-691-5654, by e-mail at 

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. 

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 selfemployed, unpaid family workers, and workers in private households are excluded.
-11- 

Hourly Compensation Costs 

Hourly Direct Pay Employer Social Insurance 

Expenditures (both legally 

required and contractual and 

private) and Other Labor Taxes Pay for Time Worked Other Direct Pay

• Basic wages

• Piece rate

• Overtime premiums

• Shift, holiday, or night work 

premiums

• Cost-of-living adjustments

• Bonuses and premiums paid 

each pay period

• 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)

• 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 
-12- 

employer 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 
-13- 

for any economy more 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.
-14- 

Share of total U.S. imports and exports of manufactured products in 2007

(in percent) 

 

Country or area and 

economic group

 2007 trade 

share

Country or area and 

economic group

2007 trade 

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 

Belgium............. 1.4 Economies............. 67.3

Czech Republic... 0.1 OECD 3................... 59.6

Denmark............ 0.3 Europe..................... 21.0

Finland.............. 0.3 Euro Area 4............... 14.9

France............... 2.2 Eastern Europe.......... 0.5

Germany ............ 4.9 East Asia ex-Japan...... 7.3 

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.