Internet address: http://www.bls.gov USDL 03-469 

Technical information: (202) 691-5654 For Release: 10:00 A.M. EDT 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Tuesday, September 9, 2003 

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS OF MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY 

AND UNIT LABOR COST TRENDS, 2002 

In 2002, the increase in manufacturing productivity in the United States, at 6.4 

percent, was the fourth largest among 13 economies compared by the U.S. Department of 

Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. (See chart 1.) Korea and Sweden recorded the highest 

productivity gains, while the Netherlands and the United Kingdom recorded the smallest 

gains. Of the 13 economies, Italy posted the only productivity decline in manufacturing. 

The United States posted its highest annual growth rate in output per hour in 15 years. 

In 6 of the 13 economies, productivity increases in 2002 were close to or somewhat 

higher than the average growth rates of the second half of the 1990’s, after slowing down 

in 2001. (Average annual growth rates for selected measures are found in tables A and B. 

The complete historical index series are shown in tables 1 through 15.) 

Chart 1. Percent change in

 manufacturing output per hour, 2002

6.4

1.5

5.2

7.2

6.3

2.7 2.3

-1.4

0.5

1.8

7.6

0.4

6.7

-3

-1

1

3

5

7

9

United States

Canada

Japan

Korea

Taiwan

Belgium

France

Germany

Italy

Netherlands

Norway

Sweden

United Kingdom

(Percent)
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Unit labor costs in manufacturing, expressed in national currency units, which are 

available for 14 economies, increased in 9 in 2002. As in 2001, Korea recorded the 

largest increase in 2002 (5.4 percent), while Japan and Taiwan recorded the largest 

declines, 6.4 and 6.3 percent, respectively. Unit labor costs decreased as well in the 

United States (1.3 percent), Sweden (3.6 percent), and Germany (0.1 percent). 

Fluctuations in exchange rates must be taken into account in order to assess 

international competitiveness in manufacturing. The depreciation of the U.S. dollar 

against most currencies in 2002 increased unit labor costs, expressed in U.S. dollars, in 

Korea and all nine European countries compared. (See chart 2 and table A.) 

Chart 2. Percent change in manufacturing unit labor costs, 

2001-2002

2.9

-3.6

4.2

4.5

4.0

-0.1

0.4

0.4

0.2

-6.3

5.4

-6.4

3.1

-1.3

7.4

2.5

17.4

10.4

9.8

5.5

6.1

6.1

5.8

-8.3

8.9

-9.2

1.6

-1.3

-12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

United Kingdom

Sweden

Norway

Netherlands

Italy

Germany

France

Denmark

Belgium

Taiwan

Korea

Japan

Canada

United States

National currency basis U.S. dollar basis
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Table A. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures

Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 2001-2002

 Output Total Hourly Unit labor costs 

Country per Employ- Average compen- compen- National U.S. Exchange

or area hour Output Hours ment hours sation sation currency dollars rate (1)

United States 6.4 - 1.1 - 7.0 - 6.8 - 0.3 - 2.4 5.0 - 1.3 - 1.3 —

Canada 1.5 2.6 1.1 0.7 0.4 5.7 4.6 3.1 1.6 - 1.4

Japan 5.2 - 1.5 - 6.4 - 6.4 0.0 - 7.9 - 1.6 - 6.4 - 9.2 - 2.9

Korea 7.2 6.3 - 0.8 - 0.2 - 0.7 12.0 13.0 5.4 8.9 3.3

Taiwan 6.7 6.6 - 0.1 - 1.8 1.7 - 0.2 - 0.1 - 6.3 - 8.3 - 2.1

Belgium 6.3 0.5 - 5.5 - 3.1 - 2.4 0.7 6.5 0.2 5.8 5.6

Denmark NA 0.4 NA - 3.8 NA 0.8 NA 0.4 6.1 5.7

France 2.7 0.1 - 2.6 - 1.7 - 0.9 0.5 3.2 0.4 6.1 5.6

Germany 2.3 - 0.3 - 2.6 - 2.1 - 0.6 - 0.4 2.2 - 0.1 5.5 5.6

Italy - 1.4 - 0.7 0.7 1.0 - 0.2 3.2 2.5 4.0 9.8 5.6

Netherlands 0.5 - 1.6 - 2.2 - 2.2 0.0 2.8 5.1 4.5 10.4 5.6

Norway 1.8 - 0.6 - 2.4 - 1.1 - 1.3 3.5 6.0 4.2 17.4 12.7

Sweden 7.6 2.9 - 4.4 - 2.8 - 1.6 - 0.8 3.7 - 3.6 2.5 6.4

United Kingdom 0.4 - 4.0 - 4.4 - 5.1 0.7 - 1.2 3.3 2.9 7.4 4.4

(1) Value of foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar.

NA=Not Available

Percent change

Table A summarizes changes in manufacturing productivity, unit labor costs, and 

related variables between 2001 and 2002. Output and unit labor cost data are presented 

for 14 economies. Comparable productivity data are not available for Denmark. (See 

technical notes.) 

This release examines comparative trends in manufacturing output per hour, unit 

labor costs, and related measures in 2002, the most recent year for which comparative 

data are available, and for certain selected time periods. Annual indexes of these 

variables also are estimated for the time period 1950-2002. Because the value added 

output data for U.S. manufacturing industries are not available prior to 1977, the 

comparative measures of output, output per hour, and unit labor costs for the United 

States in this report begin with 1977. 

Table B (pages 8-12) shows average annual percent changes for selected periods, 

beginning in 1979. Annual indexes of the data are in tables 1-15 (pages 19-33). 

Historical series are available also at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of 

Foreign Labor Statistics, website at address http://www.bls.gov/fls/home.htm. 
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Notes about the measures 

The measures in this release are based on data available to BLS as of August 2003. 

Revisions for 2001 and earlier years were made to the measures for several countries to 

incorporate data not available at the time of the February 2003 report. 

U.S. manufacturing output measure

The output measure for manufacturing in the United States is the chain-weighted index of 

real gross domestic product by industry (deflated value added), published by the Bureau 

of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce. This series is based on 

annually changing price weights. Because this measure is not available for years prior to 

1977, U.S. measures of output, output per hour, and unit labor costs begin with 1977. 

The United States real output data through 2001 used in this report were released by the 

BEA in November 2002 and are described in the Survey of Current Business, November 

2002. The BLS estimate of real U.S. output for 2002 was derived by extrapolating the 

2001 number forward, using the annual growth rate of the Federal Reserve Board’s 

Industrial Production Index for Total Manufacturing. 

The U.S. output series used for international comparisons differs from the manufacturing 

series that BLS publishes as part of its major sector productivity and costs measures for 

the United States. While both series are based on annually-changing price weights, the 

international comparisons program uses a value added output concept, while the major 

sector series is on a sectoral output basis and begins with 1949. The U.S. major sector 

productivity and costs measures can be found at internet address http://www.bls.gov/lpc/. 

For information on the differences between the value added and the sectoral output 

measures, see the Technical Notes section of this release. 

Germany

From 1991 forward, the estimated growth rates pertain to unified Germany; prior to 1991, 

the rates pertained to the former West Germany. The two data series were linked in 

1991. See technical notes for additional information. 

New measures of National Accounts

Member states of the European Union are in the process of implementing the European 

System of Integrated National Accounts (ESA 95). Some other countries are adopting 

the System of National Accounts recommended by the United Nations (SNA 93), on 

which ESA 95 is based. Revisions due to these conversions to new systems are being 

incorporated into the BLS estimates. 
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Manufacturing productivity, output, and labor input

Labor productivity (output per hour) in U.S. manufacturing grew 6.4 percent in 2002, 

the fastest rate of increase since 1987. Labor productivity in 2002 also grew in all other 

countries compared, except Italy. U.S. growth was surpassed by three economies – 

Korea (7.2 percent), Sweden (7.6 percent), and Taiwan (6.7 percent). The United 

Kingdom’s productivity gain of 0.4 percent and the Netherlands' 0.5 percent were the 

weakest gains among the countries compared. The majority of economies compared 

experienced productivity gains in 2002 after experiencing stagnant or negative growth in 

2001. France, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom, where labor productivity growth 

slowed or declined, were exceptions. (See table B.) 

Substantial 2002 productivity gains in Belgium, Japan, Sweden, and the United States 

reflected steep declines in hours worked with moderate to negative output growth. In 

contrast, productivity gains in Taiwan and Korea reflected steep rises in output and slight 

declines in hours worked, similar to the productivity growth patterns in both countries 

and in the United States and Sweden during 1995-2000. (See table B.) 

In contrast to the rise in U.S. manufacturing output during 1995-2000, output 

declined for the second consecutive year in 2002, albeit at a notably slower rate than in 

2001. The drop in U.S. output was the fourth largest decline in 2002 among the countries 

compared. Only Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom recorded greater 

declines. Output growth was relatively slow or negative in most European countries 

compared and in Japan. Korea and Taiwan recorded the highest output growth rates. In 

all countries except Taiwan and Canada, output growth rates in 2002 were lower than 

average growth rates during the 1979-2002 period. 

Unlike output, total hours worked in manufacturing declined in every country 

compared, with the exception of Canada and Italy. In the United States, hours worked 

fell by 7.0 percent in 2002, the largest annual drop in 20 years and the highest among the 

countries compared. (The 6.4 percent decline in U.S. hours worked in 2001 is a revision 

from the 5.6 percent decline reported in the February 2003 news release.) Elsewhere, the 

2002 declines ranged between 0.1 percent in Taiwan and 6.4 percent in Japan. In six of 

the countries where labor productivity grew in 2002, both hours worked and 

manufacturing output declined, but hours declined more. 

The reductions in hours worked continued a general trend during the last decades in 

the manufacturing sectors of these economies. In most of them, hours worked in 

manufacturing reached their maximum levels in the 1960s and 1970s (the United States 

in 1979) and have trended downward since then, the decline accelerating in the last few 

years. In Taiwan and Korea, manufacturing hours have been declining since the late 

1980s. The only exception to this general trend is Canada. (See tables B and 4.) 

For most countries, reductions in manufacturing hours over the last several decades 

were the result of declines in both manufacturing employment and average hours worked. 

The reduction in average hours began earlier, but the decline in employment has been 

steeper and steadier. In some countries, average hours have risen slightly since 1979. (See 

tables B, 5, and 6.) 
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In 2002 in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the large reductions in 

total hours worked were due mainly to sharp drops in manufacturing employment, while 

average hours worked changed little. Canada and Italy were the only countries where 

there was a slight increase in manufacturing employment in 2002, with Canada recording 

an increase in average hours as well. Manufacturing employment declined in all the 

other economies, and, except for Taiwan and the United Kingdom, was accompanied by 

the same or fewer average hours worked. (See table B.) 

Manufacturing hourly compensation and unit labor costs

Hourly compensation in manufacturing increased between 2.2 and 6.5 percent in 

2002 in most economies, including the United States (5.0 percent). Only Korea posted a 

double-digit increase (13.0 percent). By contrast, Japan and Taiwan recorded declines in 

hourly compensation in 2002. For most economies in 2002, hourly compensation 

increases lagged behind their average annual growth rates of the 1979–2002 period. (See 

table B.) 

Similarly, the growth of manufacturing unit labor costs for most countries, expressed 

in national currency, lagged behind the average annual increases of 1979–2002. The 

United States, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, and Sweden recorded declines in unit labor costs 

because productivity growth was larger than hourly compensation growth. In the other 

economies, hourly compensation growth outstripped productivity growth. (See tables B 

and 9.) 

To compare changes in competitiveness across economies, the impact of exchange 

rate fluctuations have to be taken into account by expressing unit labor costs in a 

common monetary unit. When a foreign currency appreciates against the U.S. dollar, 

more dollars must be paid in exchange for each national currency unit, leading to a larger 

increase or a smaller decline in unit labor costs converted from the foreign currency into 

U.S. dollars. This effectively makes products from that country more expensive and 

worsens its competitiveness. 

In 2002, the U.S. dollar depreciated against the currencies of most countries 

compared, particularly against the Norwegian krone (12.7 percent). The decline against 

the euro was 5.6 percent. This depreciation reversed a seven-year trend when the U.S. 

dollar recorded annual average appreciation against most other currencies. Only the 

Japanese yen and Canadian and Taiwanese dollars depreciated against the U.S. dollar in 

2002. (See table B.) 

As a result of the dollar's fall, most countries showed large increases in unit labor 

costs expressed in U.S. dollars, in particular Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, and Korea. 

The annual increase in Korean unit labor costs expressed in U.S. dollars was the largest 

since the Asian financial crisis in 1997. As in 2001, Japan and Taiwan continue to show 

the largest unit labor cost declines in 2002. The United States was the only other country 

with lower unit labor costs. 

Thus, for most economies in 2002, increases in unit labor costs expressed in national 

currencies were below their average annual growth rates of the last 30 years, but the 
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depreciation of the U.S. dollar in 2002 raised dollar-denominated unit labor cost increases 

above their historical growth rates. (See table B.)
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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures

Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-2002

Average annual rates of change1

Country 1979-2002 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002

or area

Output per hour

United States 3.4 3.5 2.4 3.3 4.5 0.4 6.4

Canada 2.1 3.6 0.5 3.8 1.1 -2.0 1.5

Japan 3.6 3.5 4.3 3.3 4.1 -1.6 5.2

Korea NA NA 8.2 9.7 11.0 -0.8 7.2

Taiwan 6.0 5.1 7.9 5.3 5.5 6.3 6.7

Belgium 3.8 6.0 2.2 3.2 3.3 1.2 6.3

Denmark NA 2.4 0.7 NA NA NA NA

France 4.2 5.1 3.3 4.0 4.7 4.1 2.7

Germany2 2.4 2.1 2.1 3.3 2.4 1.4 2.3

Italy 2.0 3.5 1.9 2.4 0.9 1.7 -1.4

Netherlands 3.0 4.6 2.2 3.5 2.5 -0.3 0.5

Norway 1.5 2.4 1.4 0.5 1.1 2.2 1.8

Sweden 4.5 3.1 1.9 5.7 7.8 0.9 7.6

United Kingdom 3.6 4.4 4.6 3.6 2.5 2.6 0.4

Output

United States 2.4 2.2 2.5 3.1 4.3 -6.0 -1.1

Canada 2.4 2.0 1.8 2.4 4.5 -3.3 2.6

Japan 2.5 4.7 4.8 0.4 2.0 -4.9 -1.5

Korea 8.8 8.3 12.2 8.4 8.1 2.1 6.3

Taiwan 6.0 8.2 7.0 5.0 5.7 -5.7 6.6

Belgium 2.1 2.6 2.5 0.6 3.2 0.3 0.5

Denmark 1.4 2.3 -0.6 1.7 1.8 4.4 0.4

France 2.1 1.6 2.5 1.1 3.5 3.0 0.1

Germany2 0.6 0.2 2.3 -0.7 0.9 0.6 -0.3

Italy 1.5 0.9 3.2 1.5 1.2 0.8 -0.7

Netherlands 2.0 2.0 3.1 1.8 2.6 -0.9 -1.6

Norway 0.3 0.6 -1.6 1.1 1.0 0.5 -0.6

Sweden 3.4 2.2 1.4 3.7 7.7 -1.5 2.9

United Kingdom 0.5 -1.2 3.4 0.4 1.0 -2.4 -4.0

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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures

Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-2002

Average annual rates of change1

Country 1979-2002 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002

or area

Total hours

United States -1.0 -1.2 0.0 -0.1 -0.2 -6.4 -7.0

Canada 0.3 -1.5 1.3 -1.3 3.4 -1.4 1.1

Japan -1.1 1.1 0.5 -2.8 -2.0 -3.4 -6.4

Korea NA NA 3.7 -1.2 -2.6 2.9 -0.8

Taiwan 0.0 2.9 -0.8 -0.3 0.2 -11.3 -0.1

Belgium -1.6 -3.2 0.4 -2.5 -0.1 -1.0 -5.5

Denmark NA -0.1 -1.3 NA NA NA NA

France -2.0 -3.3 -0.7 -2.7 -1.2 -1.1 -2.6

Germany2 -1.8 -1.9 0.2 -3.9 -1.5 -0.8 -2.6

Italy -0.5 -2.5 1.3 -0.9 0.3 -0.9 0.7

Netherlands -1.0 -2.5 0.9 -1.7 0.0 -0.6 -2.2

Norway -1.2 -1.8 -2.9 0.6 -0.1 -1.7 -2.4

Sweden -1.0 -0.8 -0.5 -1.9 -0.1 -2.4 -4.4

United Kingdom -3.0 -5.3 -1.2 -3.0 -1.4 -4.8 -4.4

Employment

United States -1.1 -1.4 -0.1 -0.6 -0.1 -4.7 -6.8

Canada 0.2 -1.3 1.2 -1.5 3.0 -0.4 0.7

Japan -0.7 1.2 0.8 -1.6 -1.9 -2.6 -6.4

Korea NA NA 5.4 -0.9 -2.5 5.2 -0.2

Taiwan 0.7 4.1 -0.5 -0.3 0.5 -4.5 -1.8

Belgium -1.5 -2.6 -0.3 -2.2 -0.7 0.1 -3.1

Denmark -0.7 0.2 -0.8 -1.2 -0.5 -1.1 -3.8

France -1.4 -2.3 -0.9 -2.5 -0.3 1.1 -1.7

Germany2 -1.2 -1.1 1.1 -4.2 -0.8 0.4 -2.1

Italy -1.0 -2.3 -0.2 -1.8 0.3 0.0 1.0

Netherlands -0.8 -2.3 1.0 -1.6 0.2 -0.5 -2.2

Norway -1.1 -1.8 -2.7 0.3 0.1 -1.4 -1.1

Sweden -1.4 -1.2 -0.8 -3.5 0.0 -1.0 -2.8

United Kingdom -2.7 -4.5 -0.9 -3.0 -1.1 -4.4 -5.1

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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures

Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-2002

Average annual rates of change1

Country 1979-2002 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002

or area

Average hours

United States 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.4 -0.1 -1.8 -0.3

Canada 0.1 -0.2 0.1 0.3 0.4 -1.0 0.4

Japan -0.4 0.0 -0.3 -1.3 -0.1 -0.8 0.0

Korea NA NA -1.6 -0.2 -0.1 -2.1 -0.7

Taiwan -0.7 -1.1 -0.4 0.0 -0.3 -7.1 1.7

Belgium -0.1 -0.6 0.7 -0.3 0.7 -1.1 -2.4

Denmark NA -0.3 -0.5 NA NA NA NA

France -0.6 -1.1 0.1 -0.2 -0.9 -2.2 -0.9

Germany2 -0.6 -0.8 -0.9 0.3 -0.6 -1.2 -0.6

Italy 0.5 -0.1 1.6 0.9 0.0 -0.9 -0.2

Netherlands -0.2 -0.3 -0.2 0.0 -0.2 -0.1 0.0

Norway -0.1 0.0 -0.2 0.3 -0.2 -0.3 -1.3

Sweden 0.4 0.4 0.3 1.7 -0.1 -1.4 -1.6

United Kingdom -0.3 -0.8 -0.3 -0.1 -0.3 -0.4 0.7

Total labor compensation in manufacturing3

: National currency basis

 

United States 3.6 5.8 3.9 3.4 3.7 -4.1 -2.4

Canada 5.1 7.5 5.6 2.4 4.9 2.1 5.7

Japan 2.0 5.9 5.1 0.7 -1.1 -2.6 -7.9

Korea NA NA 19.9 16.8 4.1 10.2 12.0

Taiwan 8.2 15.9 10.6 6.8 4.2 -9.4 -0.2

Belgium 3.0 4.7 4.0 1.3 1.9 4.1 0.7

Denmark 4.7 9.1 4.8 2.3 3.1 3.2 0.8

France 3.6 9.0 3.6 1.1 0.7 3.9 0.5

Germany2 3.1 4.0 5.2 2.3 1.6 2.3 -0.4

Italy 6.9 13.0 8.2 4.0 3.1 2.7 3.2

Netherlands 3.1 2.4 3.9 2.8 3.4 4.6 2.8

Norway 5.4 8.0 4.7 4.0 5.0 3.7 3.5

Sweden 5.5 8.9 7.9 2.0 4.8 0.9 -0.8

United Kingdom 4.5 6.3 8.1 2.5 3.2 -0.5 -1.2

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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures

Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-2002

Average annual rates of change1

Country 1979-2002 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002

or area

Hourly compensation3

: National currency basis

 

United States 4.6 7.2 3.9 3.5 4.0 2.4 5.0

Canada 4.7 9.1 4.2 3.7 1.4 3.5 4.6

Japan 3.2 4.7 4.6 3.6 1.0 0.7 -1.6

Korea NA NA 15.6 18.2 6.9 7.0 13.0

Taiwan 8.2 12.6 11.5 7.1 4.0 2.2 -0.1

Belgium 4.7 8.1 3.7 3.9 2.0 5.2 6.5

Denmark NA 9.3 6.2 NA NA NA NA

France 5.8 12.7 4.3 3.9 1.9 5.0 3.2

Germany2 5.0 6.0 5.0 6.4 3.1 3.1 2.2

Italy 7.4 15.9 6.8 4.9 2.8 3.6 2.5

Netherlands 4.1 5.1 3.0 4.5 3.3 5.2 5.1

Norway 6.6 10.0 7.8 3.4 5.2 5.5 6.0

Sweden 6.6 9.8 8.4 4.0 4.8 3.4 3.7

United Kingdom 7.8 12.2 9.4 5.7 4.7 4.6 3.3

Unit labor costs: National currency basis

United States 1.2 3.6 1.4 0.2 -0.5 2.0 -1.3

Canada 2.6 5.3 3.7 -0.1 0.4 5.5 3.1

Japan -0.4 1.1 0.3 0.3 -3.0 2.4 -6.4

Korea NA NA 6.9 7.8 -3.7 7.9 5.4

Taiwan 2.1 7.1 3.4 1.7 -1.5 -3.9 -6.3

Belgium 0.9 2.0 1.5 0.7 -1.3 3.9 0.2

Denmark 3.3 6.7 5.4 0.6 1.2 -1.1 0.4

France 1.5 7.3 1.0 -0.1 -2.7 0.9 0.4

Germany2 2.5 3.8 2.8 3.1 0.7 1.7 -0.1

Italy 5.3 12.0 4.8 2.4 1.9 1.9 4.0

Netherlands 1.1 0.5 0.8 1.0 0.8 5.5 4.5

Norway 5.1 7.4 6.4 2.9 4.0 3.2 4.2

Sweden 2.0 6.5 6.4 -1.6 -2.7 2.5 -3.6

United Kingdom 4.0 7.5 4.5 2.1 2.2 1.9 2.9

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Table B. Output per hour, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and related measures

Manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1979-2002

Average annual rates of change1

Country 1979-2002 1979-1985 1985-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002

or area

Unit labor costs: U.S. dollar basis

United States 1.2 3.6 1.4 0.2 -0.5 2.0 -1.3

Canada 1.3 2.7 7.0 -3.3 -1.2 1.2 1.6

Japan 2.0 -0.3 10.8 9.4 -5.7 -9.2 -9.2

Korea NA NA 11.1 6.0 -10.7 -5.6 8.9

Taiwan 2.3 5.3 11.8 2.0 -4.7 -11.2 -8.3

Belgium -0.7 -9.3 13.8 3.3 -8.8 0.7 5.8

Denmark 1.5 -5.0 17.4 2.7 -6.0 -4.0 6.1

France -0.6 -5.3 11.6 1.7 -9.4 -2.2 6.1

Germany2 1.9 -4.1 15.9 5.6 -6.9 -1.4 5.5

Italy 1.2 -2.5 15.1 -3.7 -3.1 -1.2 9.8

Netherlands 0.4 -7.6 13.6 3.6 -6.9 2.3 10.4

Norway 3.0 -1.7 13.3 2.6 -2.7 1.1 17.4

Sweden -1.5 -5.2 14.7 -5.2 -7.5 -9.1 2.5

United Kingdom 2.5 -1.0 11.4 -0.4 1.3 -3.2 7.4

Exchange rates4

United States — — — — — — —

Canada -1.3 -2.5 3.2 -3.2 -1.6 -4.1 -1.4

Japan 2.4 -1.5 10.5 9.1 -2.7 -11.3 -2.9

Korea -4.0 -9.2 3.9 -1.7 -7.3 -12.5 3.3

Taiwan 0.2 -1.7 8.2 0.3 -3.3 -7.6 -2.1

Belgium -1.6 -11.1 12.2 2.5 -7.6 -3.0 5.6

Denmark -1.7 -11.0 11.4 2.0 -7.1 -2.8 5.7

France -2.1 -11.7 10.5 1.8 -6.8 -3.0 5.6

Germany2 -0.5 -7.6 12.7 2.5 -7.5 -3.0 5.6

Italy -3.8 -12.9 9.8 -6.0 -4.9 -3.0 5.6

Netherlands -0.7 -8.0 12.7 2.6 -7.6 -3.0 5.6

Norway -2.0 -8.4 6.6 -0.3 -6.4 -2.0 12.7

Sweden -3.5 -11.0 7.8 -3.7 -4.9 -11.3 6.4

United Kingdom -1.5 -7.9 6.6 -2.4 -0.8 -5.0 4.4

r = revised NA = not available

1

Rates of change based on the compound 3Adjusted to include employment taxes

 rate method. that are not compensation to employees

 but are labor costs to employers. 2

Data for years before 1991 pertain to the

 former West Germany. 4

Value of foreign currency relative to 

 the U.S. dollar.

r

r

r

r

r

r r r

r

r

r

r

r

r r

r

r
- 13 -

Trade-weighted unit labor costs

BLS constructs indexes of U.S. unit labor cost trends relative to a trade-weighted 

average of unit labor cost trends in the other economies to take account of differences in 

the relative importance of foreign economies to U.S. trade in manufactured goods. Chart 

3 begins in 1979, a year in which U.S. manufacturing output reached a business cycle 

peak. 

Chart 3. U.S. manufacturing unit labor costs

relative to 12(1) competitors, 1979-2002

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

(1979 = 100)

U.S. dollar 

basis

National 

currency 

basis

 

 (1) Korean data begin with 1985 and have been omitted from this chart. 

The construction of the trade-weighted indexes is a three-step process. First, the indexes 

of unit labor costs for all economies are rebased to a common year (in this case, 

1979=100). Second, for each year, a "competitors" index is calculated as the weighted 

geometric mean of the indexes for all competitor economies; the weights reflect each 

country's importance in terms of U.S. trade in manufactured goods. Finally, the U.S. 

index number for each year is divided by the "competitors" index number (and multiplied 

by 100) to obtain a relative ratio of the United States to the competitors. This process is 

used to calculate the relative trade-weighted unit labor cost indexes on both a national 

currency and a U.S. dollar basis. In this release, the relative U.S. trade-weighted indexes 

are estimated against 12 economies for which comparable data are available over this 

period; the indexes underlying this chart are shown in table C. 

In chart 3, the solid line indicates that U.S. unit labor costs rose faster than 

"competitors" costs from 1979 to 1986 on a U.S. dollar basis. In most years from 1986 to 

1995, U.S. costs either rose at a slower rate than the "competitors" costs or fell at a faster 

rate. From 1996 to 1998, however, the strength of the U.S. dollar caused relative U.S. 

unit labor costs to rise. After a dip in 1999, the index of relative U.S. unit labor costs 
- 14 -

rose again in 2000 and 2001, only to dip again in 2002 with a weakening of the U.S. 

dollar. 

Table C. U.S. manufacturing unit labor costs

 relative to 12(1) competitors, 1979-2002

Unit Labor Costs Unit Labor Costs

National Currency Basis U.S. Dollar Basis

Year Own Competitors' Own Competitors'

Index Index Ratio Index Index Ratio

1979 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

1980 111.4 110.3 101.0 111.4 110.0 101.2

1981 116.5 118.4 98.4 116.5 108.9 107.0

1982 124.2 125.9 98.7 124.2 104.8 118.5

1983 121.6 127.5 95.3 121.6 103.3 117.7

1984 121.0 128.2 94.4 121.0 97.9 123.6

1985 123.4 129.6 95.2 123.4 96.1 128.4

1986 128.9 135.5 95.1 128.9 122.3 105.4

1987 122.8 137.5 89.3 122.8 140.9 87.2

1988 122.5 137.3 89.2 122.5 151.5 80.9

1989 128.0 140.2 91.3 128.0 149.4 85.7

1990 132.4 146.2 90.6 132.4 161.8 81.8

1991 138.0 151.8 90.9 138.0 171.1 80.7

1992 141.3 155.1 91.1 141.3 179.0 79.0

1993 142.3 155.7 91.4 142.3 175.3 81.1

1994 139.2 153.1 90.9 139.2 175.3 79.4

1995 134.0 152.5 87.9 134.0 184.5 72.6

1996 132.1 153.5 86.1 132.1 176.3 74.9

1997 129.9 151.6 85.7 129.9 161.7 80.4

1998 131.2 153.6 85.4 131.2 155.2 84.5

1999 129.1 151.4 85.3 129.1 157.7 81.9

2000 130.4 146.7 88.9 130.4 148.5 87.8

2001 133.0 150.6 88.3 133.0 142.5 93.3

2002 131.2 148.9 88.1 131.2 141.8 92.5

(1) Korean data begin with 1985, and have been omitted from this table. 
- 15 -

Technical Notes

Labor productivity is defined as real output per hour worked. Although the labor 

productivity measure presented in this release relates output to the hours worked of 

persons employed in manufacturing, it does not measure the specific contributions of 

labor as a single factor of production. Rather, it reflects the joint effects of many 

influences, including new technology, capital investment, capacity utilization, energy use, 

and managerial skills, as well as the skills and efforts of the workforce. 

Unit labor costs are defined as the cost of labor input required to produce one unit of 

output. They are computed as labor compensation in nominal terms divided by real 

output. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics constructs trend indexes of manufacturing labor 

productivity, hourly compensation costs, and unit labor costs from three basic aggregate 

measures – output, total labor hours, and total compensation. The hours and 

compensation measures refer to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, 

Denmark, Italy, and Taiwan. For all other countries, the measures refer to all employed 

persons, including employees, self-employed persons, and unpaid family workers. For 

all of the countries, the term “hours” refers to hours worked. 

In general, the measures relate to total manufacturing as defined by the International 

Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). However, the measures for Denmark include 

mining and exclude manufacturing handicrafts from 1950 to 1966 and the measures for 

France include parts of mining. 

The comparisons in this release make use of data made available to BLS as of August 

2003 by the statistical agencies of the individual countries. For some countries, the data 

for the most recent years are based on the European System of Integrated National 

Accounts (ESA 95) or on the United Nations System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA 

93). For other countries, data were compiled according to previously used systems. 

To obtain historical time series, BLS may link together data series which were 

compiled according to different accounting systems by the countries' statistical agencies. 

Output. For most countries, the output measures are real value added in manufacturing 

from the national accounts. However, output for Japan prior to 1970 and for the 

Netherlands prior to 1960 are indexes of industrial production. The manufacturing value 

added measures for the United Kingdom are essentially identical to their indexes of 

industrial production. 

The output measure for manufacturing in the United States is the chain-weighted 

index of real gross product originating (deflated value added), introduced by the Bureau 

of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce in August 1996. 

U.S. gross product originating is a chain-type annual-weighted series. Because these 

value added output data for U.S. manufacturing industries are not available for years 

prior to 1977, the comparative U.S. measures of output, output per hour, and unit labor 

costs begin with 1977. For more information on the U.S. measure, see Sherlene K.S. 

Lum, Brian C. Moyer, and Robert E. Yuskavage, “Improved Estimates of Gross Product 

by Industry for 1947-98,” Survey of Current Business, June 2000, pp. 24-38. 
- 16 -

The U.S. gross product originating series differs from the manufacturing output series 

that BLS publishes as part of its major sector productivity and costs program. While both 

series are based on annually-changing price weights, the gross product originating series 

is on a value added basis rather than the sectoral output basis used in the official U.S. 

manufacturing productivity series. Sectoral output is gross output less intrasector sales 

and transfers. For information on sectoral output, see William Gullickson, “Measurement 

of productivity growth in U.S. manufacturing,” Monthly Labor Review, July 1995, pp. 

13-28. 

A value added concept has been used for the international comparisons series because 

the data are more readily available from the countries' national accounts, whereas sectoral 

output would require a complex estimation procedure. Also, although BLS has 

determined that sectoral output is the correct concept for U.S. measures of productivity, 

there are other considerations that may make value added a better concept for 

international comparisons of labor productivity, such as differences among countries in 

the extent of vertical integration of industries. 

Estimation of manufacturing real output using changing price weights is becoming 

prevalent. For example, the output measure for manufacturing in the United States is the 

chain-weighted index of real gross product originating, based on annually changing price 

weights. However, many earlier time periods within the historical real output series have 

been estimated using fixed price weights, with the weights updated periodically (for 

example, every 5 or 10 years). 

Measures of real output also may differ among countries because of different 

approaches to estimating the prices of high-technology products like computers and, in 

general, of products that undergo rapid quality change. 

Labor Input. For the United States, the hours worked data are taken from the BLS major 

sector productivity program. The aggregate hours worked series used for France (from 

1970 forward), Norway, Sweden, and Canada are series published with the national 

accounts. For the former West Germany after 1959 and Germany from 1991, BLS uses 

aggregate hours worked, which were developed by a research institute of the German 

Ministry of Labor for use with the national accounts employment figures. For the United 

Kingdom from 1992, an index of total manufacturing hours is used, derived from 

published quarterly indices of manufacturing hours. For all other countries, the U.K. 

before 1992, and the former West Germany before 1959, BLS constructs its own 

estimates of aggregate hours, using employment figures published with the national 

accounts, or other comprehensive employment series, and estimates of average annual 

hours worked. Hours measures for Denmark are not available after 1993 due to a lack of 

comparable data. 

Compensation (Labor Cost). The compensation measures are from national accounts 

data. Compensation includes employer expenditures for legally required insurance 

programs and contractual and private benefit plans, in addition to all payments made in 

cash or in kind directly to employees. For Canada, France, and Sweden, compensation is 

increased to account for important taxes on payroll or employment. For the United 

Kingdom, compensation is reduced between 1967 and 1991 to account for subsidies. 

When data for the self-employed are not available, total compensation is estimated by 

assuming the same hourly compensation for self-employed and employees. Real 
- 17 -

compensation for the United States is derived using the Consumer Price Index research 

series (CPI-U-RS). 

Data for Germany. The average annual growth rates for Germany pertain to unified 

Germany from 1991 forward and to the former West Germany for prior years. The data 

series are linked in 1991. In the historic data tables, separate index series are shown for 

unified Germany and for former West Germany. The West German estimates end with 

1998, the last year for which the German Statistical Office has published the necessary 

underlying data. The estimates for West Germany have not been updated or revised by 

BLS since they were published in the news release USDL 99-235, on Aug. 27, 1999. 

Current Indicators. The measures for recent years may be based on current indicators of 

output (such as industrial production indexes), employment, average hours, and hourly 

compensation until national accounts and other statistics, normally used for the long-term 

measures, become available. 

Trade-Weighted Measures. The trade weights for Canada, Japan, and the European 

countries were obtained by re-scaling a series of weights, developed by the International 

Monetary Fund, based on average trade flows over the 1989-91 period. These weights 

are based on aggregate trade data for total manufacturing and take account of both 

bilateral trade and the relative importance of "third country" markets. The 1989-91 

weights do not include Taiwan. BLS developed weights for Taiwan by using data from 

an earlier study from the International Monetary Fund and other sources. The weight 

used for Germany is based on the trade weight of the former West Germany. 

The following weights were used for the entire period for which trade-weighted unit 

labor cost measures are produced: 

Country Weight Country Weight 

 

 Canada 25.31 Germany 11.61 

 Japan 30.57 Italy 4.60 

 Taiwan 5.79 Netherlands 2.25 

 Belgium 2.14 Norway 0.48 

 Denmark 0.48 Sweden 1.89 

 France 5.90 United Kingdom 8.99 

 

Level Comparisons. The BLS measures are limited to trend comparisons. BLS does not 

prepare level comparisons of manufacturing productivity and unit labor costs because of 

data limitations and technical problems in comparing the levels of manufacturing output 

among countries. Each country measures manufacturing output in its own currency 

units. To compare outputs among countries, a common unit of measure is needed. 

Market exchange rates are not suitable as a basis for comparing output levels. What is 

needed are purchasing power parities, which are the number of foreign currency units 

required to buy goods and services equivalent to what can be bought with one unit of 

U.S. currency. 
- 18 -

Purchasing power parities are available for total gross domestic product (GDP) from 

the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). However, these 

parities are derived for expenditures made by consumers, business, and government for 

goods and services – not for value added by industry. Therefore, they do not provide 

purchasing power parities by industry. The parities developed for total GDP are not 

suitable for each component industry, such as manufacturing. 

European exchange rates. On Jan. 1, 1999, 11 European countries joined the European 

Monetary Union (EMU). Greece joined on Jan. 1, 2001. The euro, the official currency 

of the EMU, was established at fixed conversion rates to the previous national currencies 

of EMU members. Data on manufacturing value added and labor compensation for euroarea countries are now reported in euros. Exchange rates between the previous national 

currencies of euro-area countries and the U.S. dollar are no longer reported; only the 

exchange rate between the euro and the U.S. dollar is available. 

In order to maintain historical continuity of data series, data for euro-area countries 

for years before 1999 have been linked to the euro-denominated series by applying the 

fixed euro/national currency conversion rates. For countries and years where output, 

compensation, and exchange rates are converted from national currency units into euros, 

the following fixed conversion rates are used: 

 

1 euro equals: 40.3399 Belgian francs 1936.27 Italian lire 

 6.55957 French francs 2.20371 Netherlands guilders 

 1.95583 German marks 

 

The currency exchange rates cited in this publication are annual averages of daily buying 

rates in New York City. 
- 19 -

Table 1. Output per hour in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Sw

1950 NA 26.0 NA NA NA NA 21.2 12.1 NA 13.2 13.5 11.4 25.1 

1955 NA 31.9 8.6 NA NA NA 23.1 15.2 NA 19.7 18.8 14.6 29.2 1960 NA 37.8 13.8 NA NA 18.0 28.1 19.8 NA 29.2 23.6 18.8 37.6 1961 NA 39.8 15.6 NA NA 18.2 29.7 21.1 NA 30.6 25.5 19.8 38.9 1962 NA 42.7 16.4 NA NA 19.2 31.2 22.4 NA 32.8 28.2 20.6 38.9 1963 NA 44.5 17.7 NA NA 19.9 32.2 23.6 NA 34.1 29.0 21.4 40.9 1964 NA 46.3 20.1 NA NA 21.2 34.9 25.5 NA 37.1 29.3 23.4 43.2 1965 NA 48.6 21.0 NA NA 22.3 36.6 27.3 NA 39.3 32.6 24.9 45.8 1966 NA 49.5 23.0 NA NA 23.8 38.4 29.5 NA 40.9 35.4 26.6 47.7 1967 NA 50.0 26.0 NA NA 25.1 41.4 31.3 NA 43.4 37.2 28.6 49.5 1968 NA 52.7 29.1 NA NA 27.3 44.4 34.6 NA 47.0 40.1 32.1 52.5 1969 NA 55.4 33.4 NA NA 29.9 46.7 36.8 NA 50.4 41.6 35.2 57.4 1970 NA 54.9 37.5 NA NA 32.9 49.4 39.0 NA 52.0 44.3 38.5 59.1 1971 NA 58.2 39.8 NA NA 35.1 52.8 41.2 NA 54.0 45.0 40.8 60.9 1972 NA 61.3 43.6 NA NA 39.2 57.6 43.1 NA 57.4 47.8 44.0 64.0 1973 NA 65.2 47.6 NA 33.1 43.5 63.5 46.1 NA 61.1 52.1 48.8 67.9 1974 NA 66.2 48.8 NA 32.0 45.8 65.2 47.2 NA 63.2 55.3 52.3 70.5 1975 NA 63.4 50.2 NA 33.7 47.6 70.6 48.8 NA 65.9 52.3 51.6 69.9 1976 NA 68.8 53.2 NA 36.7 52.4 74.4 51.8 NA 70.6 59.8 57.2 71.5 1977 68.3 72.4 55.3 NA 38.5 55.0 77.3 54.9 NA 72.7 61.7 61.9 72.6 1978 69.2 73.8 57.5 NA 43.4 58.3 79.6 57.3 NA 75.2 64.9 64.6 73.9 1979 70.1 73.9 62.2 NA 45.1 61.4 83.3 59.4 NA 78.4 71.1 67.4 79.3 1980 70.5 72.9 63.2 NA 47.7 65.4 86.2 61.5 NA 77.2 74.2 69.1 77.9 1981 74.1 76.5 65.2 NA 52.8 70.1 87.3 65.0 NA 78.7 73.8 71.7 77.6 1982 76.2 77.1 67.9 NA 54.1 73.5 88.4 69.7 NA 78.8 74.0 72.3 80.9 1983 80.0 81.9 68.8 NA 57.5 81.0 93.5 73.3 NA 82.6 75.7 77.5 83.6 1984 83.2 88.8 71.2 NA 59.1 85.0 94.3 75.7 NA 85.4 81.9 85.3 88.8 1985 86.0 91.1 76.5 54.9 60.9 87.0 95.8 79.8 NA 89.1 87.4 88.5 91.6 1986 86.0 87.6 76.1 58.9 66.6 87.8 91.8 82.4 NA 89.6 87.9 89.7 90.3 1987 92.9 87.8 80.2 63.2 72.8 88.9 91.5 83.9 NA 88.1 89.3 90.4 94.7 1988 96.9 89.6 83.9 68.7 76.4 92.0 94.1 88.4 NA 91.5 93.9 92.3 93.5 1989 95.7 92.5 88.6 73.2 83.1 96.9 100.2 92.1 NA 94.6 95.5 96.4 96.0 1990 96.9 93.4 94.4 81.3 88.9 96.8 99.1 93.8 NA 99.0 95.8 98.7 98.1 1991 97.9 95.3 99.0 91.4 96.6 99.1 99.5 97.0 98.3 101.9 95.9 99.0 98.2 1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 11993 102.1 105.8 101.7 108.1 102.9 102.5 99.3 100.7 101.8 100.6 101.4 102.0 99.6 11994 107.3 110.8 103.3 118.0 106.7 108.4 NA 108.2 109.6 107.9 104.9 113.1 99.6 1

1995 113.8 112.4 111.0 129.2 115.1 113.2 NA 113.8 112.3 111.2 108.0 117.3 100.7 11996 117.0 109.7 116.1 142.5 123.1 117.3 NA 114.5 114.7 115.1 108.1 119.3 102.5 11997 121.3 113.5 121.0 163.3 129.2 127.0 NA 121.8 120.4 121.8 109.9 121.4 102.0 11998 126.5 113.1 121.2 182.9 135.8 129.4 NA 127.8 122.0 127.1 110.0 124.1 99.9 11999 133.7 116.0 126.7 202.3 143.1 128.8 NA 133.0 121.3 NA 109.7 127.0 103.6 1

2000 142.1 118.4 135.9 217.8 150.6 133.2 NA 143.4 126.7 NA 112.7 132.7 106.6 12001 142.7 116.1 133.8 216.1 160.1 134.9 NA 149.3 128.4 NA 114.6 132.3 108.9 12002 151.9 117.9 140.7 231.7 170.9 143.4 NA 153.3 131.4 NA 113.0 133.1 110.9 1

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 20 -

Table 2. Output per employed person in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 NA 28.3 NA NA NA NA 29.9 14.6 NA 19.2 14.2 14.8 32.8 25

1955 NA 33.4 10.3 NA NA NA 31.9 18.3 NA 28.8 20.3 19.0 38.2 271960 NA 39.3 17.1 NA NA 22.6 36.9 23.9 NA 38.4 25.7 24.7 47.3 331961 NA 41.3 19.1 NA NA 22.9 37.8 25.5 NA 39.6 27.5 25.0 48.3 341962 NA 44.6 19.6 NA NA 24.1 40.1 27.1 NA 41.3 29.5 25.8 48.1 371963 NA 46.6 21.0 NA NA 25.0 40.7 28.6 NA 42.4 30.4 26.7 50.4 381964 NA 48.7 23.7 NA NA 26.5 44.4 30.7 NA 46.1 30.7 28.9 53.5 411965 NA 51.1 24.3 NA NA 27.4 46.5 32.5 NA 48.7 33.1 30.8 55.4 441966 NA 51.6 26.8 NA NA 29.1 48.0 35.3 NA 50.0 36.4 32.6 57.9 461967 NA 52.2 30.4 NA NA 30.3 51.1 37.1 NA 51.7 38.7 34.9 59.5 491968 NA 55.0 33.9 NA NA 33.0 53.5 39.9 NA 56.6 41.8 38.5 61.6 521969 NA 57.5 38.3 NA NA 35.7 55.7 43.4 NA 60.7 43.0 41.7 65.8 561970 NA 56.7 42.6 NA NA 38.3 57.0 45.5 NA 62.4 44.9 44.7 67.3 571971 NA 59.9 44.5 NA NA 40.2 60.7 47.7 NA 63.4 44.3 46.9 68.6 591972 NA 63.1 48.5 NA NA 43.9 64.7 49.4 NA 66.6 46.8 50.0 71.1 611973 NA 66.6 52.4 NA 36.9 47.6 67.5 52.1 NA 70.4 51.7 54.3 74.9 641974 NA 67.1 51.5 NA 34.4 48.7 70.8 52.5 NA 71.4 52.9 56.5 76.7 661975 NA 63.5 51.8 NA 37.1 48.0 74.2 52.8 NA 72.5 49.1 54.7 75.6 661976 NA 69.0 56.5 NA 40.5 53.8 78.6 56.2 NA 79.9 56.2 60.5 75.3 661977 67.1 72.6 58.9 NA 42.6 56.1 80.9 59.0 NA 81.1 57.7 65.1 75.2 641978 67.9 74.5 61.5 NA 47.5 59.4 82.3 61.1 NA 82.8 60.6 67.3 75.0 641979 68.4 74.2 67.0 NA 49.2 62.6 86.1 63.2 NA 86.0 65.8 69.4 79.1 691980 67.9 72.6 68.0 NA 52.1 65.6 89.6 65.4 NA 83.5 68.9 71.6 78.2 691981 71.4 75.4 69.7 NA 54.9 68.7 89.6 68.2 NA 84.1 68.4 74.6 78.0 691982 72.1 75.4 72.3 NA 56.2 73.7 92.1 70.3 NA 83.7 68.5 76.0 80.6 721983 77.8 81.2 73.4 NA 59.8 79.2 98.7 73.6 NA 87.9 70.0 81.7 83.7 781984 82.0 87.9 76.6 NA 61.9 82.5 99.3 76.0 NA 90.9 75.9 88.6 88.6 841985 84.9 90.7 82.1 60.7 62.0 85.7 97.5 79.7 NA 93.1 80.2 89.5 91.1 841986 84.8 87.7 81.2 66.3 69.0 86.5 95.6 82.5 NA 93.0 83.1 90.3 89.9 851987 92.1 88.6 86.0 70.0 75.4 88.4 93.2 84.5 NA 91.3 86.9 90.6 92.0 881988 96.9 92.3 90.9 74.2 78.2 93.0 95.9 89.4 NA 94.4 92.0 93.2 91.6 891989 95.7 93.2 94.8 76.0 83.8 97.5 100.8 93.1 NA 96.2 94.7 96.8 94.6 911990 96.3 93.6 99.7 83.2 88.8 98.5 98.5 94.2 NA 98.8 95.0 99.0 96.4 931991 96.6 95.1 102.2 92.7 96.6 99.2 99.1 96.5 94.7 101.0 96.0 99.1 97.2 941992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 103.4 106.9 99.6 108.3 102.9 100.9 98.5 100.6 99.4 97.6 99.8 101.9 99.9 1101994 109.7 113.0 101.4 119.0 107.0 109.7 110.2 108.2 107.8 104.7 106.9 113.1 100.1 1261995 115.6 114.1 109.7 130.5 114.9 113.3 113.7 113.0 110.5 107.3 112.2 117.5 100.3 1341996 118.7 112.2 115.4 141.7 122.7 117.9 108.6 113.8 110.3 109.3 110.9 119.5 101.5 1391997 123.9 116.0 119.6 160.1 129.2 127.8 118.1 120.7 115.9 116.0 114.2 121.0 100.8 1511998 128.1 116.2 117.3 172.2 133.2 130.4 117.3 126.4 117.9 122.3 113.5 123.5 99.1 1601999 136.3 120.4 122.5 205.7 141.2 133.1 121.2 130.8 116.7 NA 113.7 126.4 103.1 176

2000 143.6 122.7 133.6 218.5 148.4 137.7 127.6 136.2 120.7 NA 117.3 131.9 104.9 1942001 141.6 119.1 130.5 212.1 146.5 137.9 134.7 138.7 120.9 NA 118.2 131.4 107.0 1932002 150.3 121.4 137.2 225.9 158.9 143.1 140.5 141.2 123.1 NA 116.2 132.1 107.5 205

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 21 -

Table 3. Output in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Sw

1950 NA 22.0 2.2 NA NA NA 29.1 16.6 NA 14.5 10.1 16.9 39.0 

1955 NA 28.5 4.9 NA NA NA 32.0 20.6 NA 27.5 15.6 23.1 47.7 1960 NA 33.4 10.7 NA NA 30.7 44.4 27.9 NA 41.5 23.0 31.9 57.7 1961 NA 34.7 12.9 NA NA 32.1 46.8 30.0 NA 44.0 25.4 33.0 60.1 1962 NA 38.6 14.0 NA NA 34.6 50.8 32.1 NA 46.2 28.1 34.6 60.6 1963 NA 41.2 15.6 NA NA 36.2 51.4 34.6 NA 47.1 29.9 36.1 64.2 1964 NA 45.1 18.1 NA NA 39.5 57.5 37.8 NA 51.2 30.3 39.5 68.8 1965 NA 49.5 18.8 NA NA 40.8 61.3 39.7 NA 55.0 31.9 42.2 72.4 1966 NA 52.9 21.3 NA NA 43.2 62.6 43.3 NA 55.9 34.8 44.5 76.7 1967 NA 53.9 25.6 NA NA 43.7 63.7 45.4 NA 54.7 38.3 46.3 79.2 1968 NA 57.0 29.5 NA NA 46.7 67.3 47.9 NA 60.3 41.8 50.7 81.1 1969 NA 60.7 34.4 NA NA 52.2 71.8 53.7 NA 67.4 44.5 55.5 87.0 1970 NA 58.9 39.2 7.0 12.7 57.6 73.9 57.7 NA 70.9 48.1 59.8 91.0 1971 NA 62.5 41.0 8.3 15.5 60.1 75.1 61.3 NA 71.6 48.8 61.8 93.4 1972 NA 67.9 44.7 9.5 18.9 64.7 81.5 64.2 NA 73.8 51.5 63.4 97.7 1973 NA 74.9 50.4 12.3 22.3 70.6 85.5 69.1 NA 78.5 58.1 68.0 103.3 1974 NA 76.5 49.1 14.3 21.0 73.4 85.9 70.4 NA 77.7 61.8 70.5 106.9 1975 NA 70.4 46.6 16.2 22.0 67.9 82.1 69.0 NA 74.1 58.3 65.9 104.5 1976 NA 76.4 50.6 19.9 27.0 73.0 86.8 73.0 NA 79.8 66.9 69.9 104.0 1977 72.5 78.8 52.2 22.8 30.6 73.3 88.2 76.4 NA 81.3 69.3 73.4 104.0 1978 76.5 83.2 53.7 27.5 37.1 74.3 88.8 78.1 NA 82.8 72.7 74.1 101.9 1979 79.0 85.9 58.4 30.1 40.0 76.2 92.8 79.6 NA 87.1 80.3 75.6 106.0 1980 75.8 83.6 60.4 29.9 44.0 78.2 94.4 81.6 NA 85.3 84.4 76.9 104.9 1981 79.2 86.6 62.6 32.7 47.3 77.2 90.4 82.2 NA 84.4 81.8 78.0 103.0 1982 74.6 78.7 64.6 34.6 48.5 80.4 92.1 83.4 NA 81.5 80.2 76.4 102.5 1983 79.2 82.5 66.6 39.5 54.1 84.6 98.0 85.5 NA 82.7 79.6 78.3 101.1 1984 87.6 91.8 71.0 46.0 62.2 87.2 103.0 85.7 NA 85.2 82.2 83.0 106.0 11985 90.0 96.9 76.7 48.8 64.3 89.1 106.1 87.5 NA 88.3 84.9 85.0 109.8 11986 88.6 96.8 75.5 57.9 74.7 89.1 106.9 89.0 NA 89.7 86.4 86.7 109.5 11987 96.4 100.7 79.0 68.5 84.3 88.8 101.8 89.1 NA 88.0 89.0 87.9 112.0 11988 103.2 108.5 85.3 76.7 87.7 93.3 100.9 93.2 NA 90.9 95.0 90.2 106.6 11989 102.4 111.3 90.9 79.4 90.8 99.1 105.0 97.7 NA 94.0 98.3 94.4 102.6 11990 101.6 106.0 97.1 86.7 90.0 101.0 102.8 99.1 NA 99.1 99.4 99.0 101.4 11991 98.3 99.0 102.0 95.0 96.1 100.7 101.5 99.8 102.3 102.8 99.3 99.8 99.0 11992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 11993 103.5 105.9 96.3 105.4 102.4 97.0 95.6 95.7 92.4 91.8 96.5 97.7 101.7 11994 111.1 114.1 94.9 116.8 108.5 101.4 105.6 100.3 95.1 93.5 102.4 104.5 104.6 11995 118.4 119.6 98.9 129.9 114.9 104.2 111.6 104.9 95.2 93.7 107.2 108.2 107.3 11996 121.3 119.6 103.0 138.7 120.3 106.7 106.7 104.6 92.5 92.5 105.4 108.9 110.3 11997 127.9 127.7 106.5 147.8 128.3 114.0 115.2 109.7 95.7 95.8 108.8 111.6 114.2 11998 133.1 132.8 100.2 136.8 132.6 116.5 115.7 115.0 97.7 100.7 110.7 114.9 113.7 11999 139.5 141.0 101.9 165.6 141.5 117.3 117.7 118.7 95.7 NA 110.3 117.6 113.6 1

2000 146.1 148.8 109.2 191.9 151.8 122.0 122.1 124.3 99.8 NA 113.7 122.8 112.8 12001 137.3 143.9 103.9 195.9 143.1 122.3 127.5 128.0 100.4 NA 114.6 121.7 113.4 12002 135.9 147.6 102.3 208.3 152.5 122.9 128.0 128.1 100.0 NA 113.8 119.7 112.6 1

NA: Not Available** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 22 -

Table 4. Total hours in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Sw

1950 85.5 84.8 NA NA NA NA 137.3 136.7 NA 109.8 75.0 147.9 155.6 1

1955 94.6 89.4 57.0 NA NA NA 138.5 135.5 NA 139.6 83.1 158.3 163.7 11960 92.1 88.3 77.8 NA NA 170.7 157.8 140.5 NA 142.3 97.6 169.8 153.6 11961 89.7 87.2 82.4 NA NA 175.9 157.5 142.1 NA 143.9 99.6 166.3 154.5 11962 93.4 90.3 85.1 NA NA 180.3 162.7 143.2 NA 140.8 99.5 168.4 155.8 11963 94.4 92.6 87.9 NA NA 181.8 159.6 146.5 NA 138.1 103.2 168.7 156.9 11964 96.4 97.2 90.0 NA NA 186.5 164.9 148.3 NA 138.0 103.5 169.1 159.2 11965 102.0 101.9 89.8 NA NA 183.2 167.5 145.5 NA 140.0 97.7 169.5 158.1 11966 108.6 106.8 92.8 NA NA 181.5 162.8 147.0 NA 136.7 98.2 167.5 160.8 11967 108.0 107.9 98.3 NA NA 173.6 153.8 145.0 NA 125.9 102.8 161.9 160.1 11968 109.6 108.2 101.4 NA NA 170.9 151.7 138.5 NA 128.3 104.2 158.0 154.6 11969 110.9 109.7 103.0 NA NA 174.9 153.6 146.0 NA 133.8 107.0 157.7 151.7 11970 104.4 107.1 104.4 NA NA 174.7 149.5 148.0 NA 136.3 108.5 155.5 153.9 11971 100.5 107.4 103.1 NA NA 171.4 142.1 148.7 NA 132.5 108.4 151.6 153.4 11972 105.1 110.8 102.6 NA NA 165.2 141.4 148.9 NA 128.7 107.7 144.2 152.6 11973 110.4 114.9 106.0 NA 67.4 162.1 134.8 149.7 NA 128.4 111.4 139.5 152.1 11974 107.9 115.5 100.6 NA 65.6 160.4 131.7 149.3 NA 122.9 111.8 134.7 151.5 11975 97.2 111.1 92.8 NA 65.1 142.6 116.3 141.3 NA 112.5 111.4 127.6 149.6 11976 101.9 111.1 95.0 NA 73.7 139.4 116.7 141.0 NA 113.1 111.9 122.1 145.5 11977 106.1 108.8 94.4 NA 79.3 133.3 114.1 139.2 NA 111.8 112.3 118.6 143.2 11978 110.6 112.8 93.3 NA 85.5 127.4 111.5 136.3 NA 110.1 112.0 114.7 137.9 11979 112.7 116.2 93.8 NA 88.7 124.2 111.3 134.2 NA 111.0 112.9 112.1 133.7 11980 107.5 114.6 95.6 NA 92.3 119.7 109.6 132.7 NA 110.5 113.8 111.2 134.7 11981 107.0 113.2 95.9 NA 89.7 110.2 103.6 126.4 NA 107.1 111.0 108.9 132.7 11982 97.9 102.0 95.1 NA 89.6 109.4 104.1 119.7 NA 103.4 108.4 105.7 126.8 11983 98.9 100.7 96.8 NA 94.0 104.3 104.9 116.5 NA 100.1 105.3 101.0 120.9 11984 105.3 103.4 99.8 NA 105.2 102.6 109.2 113.2 NA 99.7 100.3 97.3 119.4 1

1985 104.6 106.4 100.3 88.8 105.5 102.4 110.7 109.7 NA 99.1 97.1 96.1 119.9 11986 103.0 110.5 99.2 98.3 112.2 101.5 116.4 108.0 NA 100.1 98.3 96.7 121.2 1

1987 103.8 114.7 98.5 108.3 115.8 100.0 111.2 106.1 NA 99.9 99.7 97.2 118.3 1

1988 106.6 121.2 101.7 111.6 114.8 101.5 107.2 105.4 NA 99.3 101.2 97.7 114.0 11989 107.1 120.2 102.7 108.5 109.2 102.3 104.7 106.0 NA 99.3 103.0 97.9 106.8 11990 104.8 113.5 102.9 106.6 101.3 104.3 103.7 105.7 NA 100.1 103.7 100.3 103.4 1

1991 100.4 103.9 103.1 103.9 99.5 101.5 102.1 102.9 104.1 100.9 103.6 100.8 100.8 11992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 11993 101.4 100.1 94.7 97.5 99.6 94.7 96.2 95.0 90.8 91.3 95.2 95.8 102.1 1994 103.6 103.0 91.9 98.9 101.6 93.6 NA 92.7 86.8 86.7 97.6 92.4 105.0 

1995 104.0 106.4 89.1 100.6 99.8 92.0 NA 92.2 84.8 84.3 99.3 92.3 106.6 11996 103.6 109.0 88.7 97.3 97.7 91.0 NA 91.3 80.6 80.4 97.5 91.2 107.6 11997 105.4 112.4 88.0 90.5 99.3 89.7 NA 90.1 79.5 78.6 99.0 91.9 112.0 11998 105.2 117.5 82.7 74.8 97.7 90.0 NA 90.0 80.1 79.3 100.6 92.6 113.7 11999 104.4 121.5 80.4 81.9 98.9 91.0 NA 89.2 78.9 NA 100.5 92.6 109.6 1

2000 102.8 125.6 80.3 88.1 100.8 91.6 NA 86.7 78.8 NA 100.8 92.5 105.9 12001 96.3 123.9 77.7 90.7 89.4 90.7 NA 85.8 78.2 NA 100.0 91.9 104.1 12002 89.5 125.2 72.7 89.9 89.3 85.7 NA 83.6 76.1 NA 100.7 89.9 101.6 

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 23 -

Table 5. Employment in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Sw

1950 84.3 77.9 NA NA NA NA 97.5 113.3 NA 75.2 71.4 113.6 119.0 1

1955 93.1 85.3 47.8 NA NA NA 100.2 112.9 NA 95.5 77.1 121.3 124.9 11960 92.6 84.8 62.8 NA NA 135.7 120.3 116.5 NA 108.1 89.5 128.8 121.9 1

1961 90.0 84.1 67.5 NA NA 140.1 123.7 117.3 NA 111.3 92.4 131.7 124.5 11962 92.8 86.5 71.3 NA NA 143.3 126.8 118.5 NA 111.8 95.3 134.2 126.0 11963 93.5 88.5 74.1 NA NA 144.7 126.4 121.0 NA 111.0 98.3 134.9 127.4 11964 94.9 92.5 76.4 NA NA 148.8 129.5 123.3 NA 111.0 98.6 136.5 128.5 11965 99.3 96.9 77.4 NA NA 148.7 131.7 122.1 NA 113.0 96.3 137.3 130.6 11966 105.4 102.4 79.7 NA NA 148.5 130.4 122.7 NA 111.8 95.7 136.4 132.4 11967 106.7 103.3 84.3 NA NA 143.9 124.6 122.2 NA 105.8 98.8 132.4 133.2 11968 108.5 103.8 87.2 NA NA 141.5 125.7 120.1 NA 106.6 100.2 131.5 131.7 11969 110.6 105.7 89.7 NA NA 146.3 129.0 123.6 NA 111.0 103.6 133.2 132.3 11970 106.3 103.9 91.9 NA NA 150.2 129.7 126.8 NA 113.6 107.0 133.7 135.3 11971 102.2 104.4 92.3 NA NA 149.6 123.6 128.4 NA 112.9 109.9 131.7 136.1 11972 105.0 107.7 92.3 NA NA 147.4 125.8 129.9 NA 110.8 110.0 127.0 137.5 11973 110.5 112.5 96.2 NA 60.3 148.4 126.6 132.7 NA 111.5 112.4 125.3 137.8 11974 110.1 113.9 95.3 NA 61.2 150.7 121.4 134.1 NA 108.9 116.9 124.9 139.3 11975 100.6 110.9 90.0 NA 59.3 141.5 110.6 130.8 NA 102.2 118.5 120.6 138.3 11976 104.2 110.7 89.5 NA 66.7 135.8 110.5 130.0 NA 99.9 119.1 115.6 138.1 1

1977 108.2 108.5 88.6 NA 71.9 130.5 109.1 129.5 NA 100.3 120.1 112.7 138.3 1

1978 112.7 111.7 87.4 NA 78.1 125.0 107.8 128.0 NA 100.0 120.0 110.1 135.8 11979 115.6 115.7 87.2 NA 81.4 121.8 107.8 126.0 NA 101.2 121.9 108.9 134.0 11980 111.6 115.1 88.9 NA 84.4 119.3 105.4 124.7 NA 102.2 122.6 107.4 134.2 11981 111.0 114.8 89.8 NA 86.2 112.4 100.9 120.5 NA 100.3 119.6 104.6 132.0 11982 103.5 104.3 89.3 NA 86.3 109.2 99.9 118.7 NA 97.4 117.1 100.5 127.3 1

1983 101.8 101.6 90.8 NA 90.5 106.8 99.3 116.2 NA 94.1 113.7 95.9 120.8 11984 106.8 104.4 92.7 NA 100.4 105.7 103.7 112.8 NA 93.7 108.4 93.7 119.6 11985 106.0 106.8 93.5 80.3 103.7 104.0 108.8 109.9 NA 94.9 105.8 94.9 120.5 11986 104.5 110.4 93.0 87.3 108.4 103.0 111.8 107.9 NA 96.4 103.9 96.0 121.7 11987 104.7 113.7 91.9 97.9 111.8 100.5 109.3 105.4 NA 96.4 102.5 97.0 121.8 11988 106.6 117.6 93.9 103.4 112.2 100.4 105.3 104.2 NA 96.3 103.3 96.8 116.3 11989 107.0 119.4 95.9 104.4 108.3 101.7 104.1 104.9 NA 97.6 103.8 97.5 108.4 11990 105.4 113.2 97.5 104.3 101.4 102.5 104.3 105.2 NA 100.3 104.6 100.0 105.2 1

1991 101.8 104.1 99.8 102.5 99.5 101.5 102.4 103.5 108.0 101.8 103.5 100.7 101.9 11992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 11993 100.1 99.1 96.8 97.3 99.6 96.1 97.0 95.2 93.0 94.0 96.8 95.9 101.8 1994 101.3 100.9 93.6 98.1 101.4 92.5 95.8 92.7 88.2 89.3 95.8 92.4 104.5 1995 102.5 104.8 90.1 99.6 99.9 91.9 98.1 92.8 86.2 87.3 95.6 92.1 107.0 1996 102.2 106.6 89.3 97.9 98.1 90.5 98.3 91.9 83.8 84.6 95.1 91.1 108.7 1997 103.2 110.0 89.1 92.3 99.3 89.2 97.6 90.9 82.6 82.6 95.3 92.2 113.3 1998 104.0 114.3 85.5 79.5 99.6 89.3 98.6 91.0 82.9 82.4 97.5 93.1 114.7 1999 102.4 117.1 83.2 80.5 100.2 88.1 97.1 90.7 82.0 NA 97.0 93.1 110.2 

2000 101.8 121.2 81.7 87.8 102.3 88.6 95.7 91.3 82.7 NA 96.9 93.1 107.5 2001 97.0 120.7 79.6 92.4 97.7 88.7 94.7 92.3 83.0 NA 96.9 92.6 106.0 2002 90.4 121.5 74.5 92.2 96.0 85.9 91.1 90.7 81.3 NA 97.9 90.6 104.8 

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 24 -

Table 6. Average annual hours in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 101.4 108.8 NA NA NA NA 140.7 120.7 NA 146.0 105.1 130.2 130.8 129

1955 101.5 104.8 119.3 NA NA NA 138.2 120.1 NA 146.1 107.8 130.5 131.1 1291960 99.5 104.1 123.9 NA NA 125.8 131.2 120.6 NA 131.7 109.0 131.8 126.0 1221961 99.6 103.6 122.0 NA NA 125.5 127.3 121.1 NA 129.4 107.8 126.3 124.1 1211962 100.6 104.4 119.5 NA NA 125.8 128.3 120.9 NA 126.0 104.4 125.4 123.7 1201963 100.9 104.7 118.6 NA NA 125.7 126.3 121.0 NA 124.4 104.9 125.0 123.1 1181964 101.6 105.1 117.9 NA NA 125.3 127.4 120.3 NA 124.3 104.9 123.9 123.9 1171965 102.7 105.2 115.9 NA NA 123.2 127.2 119.2 NA 123.9 101.4 123.5 121.1 1161966 103.0 104.4 116.5 NA NA 122.2 124.8 119.8 NA 122.3 102.6 122.8 121.4 1161967 101.2 104.5 116.7 NA NA 120.7 123.4 118.6 NA 119.0 104.0 122.3 120.2 1141968 101.0 104.2 116.4 NA NA 120.7 120.6 115.3 NA 120.4 104.0 120.1 117.4 1121969 100.2 103.9 114.8 NA NA 119.5 119.1 118.1 NA 120.6 103.3 118.4 114.7 1101970 98.2 103.2 113.6 NA NA 116.3 115.3 116.7 NA 119.9 101.4 116.2 113.8 1101971 98.4 102.8 111.8 NA NA 114.6 114.9 115.8 NA 117.3 98.6 115.1 112.7 1091972 100.0 102.9 111.1 NA NA 112.0 112.4 114.6 NA 116.2 97.9 113.5 111.0 1061973 99.9 102.1 110.1 NA 111.7 109.3 106.4 112.8 NA 115.2 99.1 111.3 110.3 1041974 98.0 101.5 105.6 NA 107.3 106.4 108.5 111.3 NA 112.9 95.6 107.9 108.8 1031975 96.6 100.2 103.2 NA 109.9 100.7 105.1 108.1 NA 110.1 94.0 105.9 108.1 1011976 97.7 100.3 106.2 NA 110.5 102.6 105.6 108.4 NA 113.2 94.0 105.7 105.3 1001977 98.1 100.3 106.5 NA 110.4 102.1 104.6 107.5 NA 111.5 93.5 105.2 103.5 991978 98.1 101.0 106.9 NA 109.6 101.9 103.4 106.5 NA 110.1 93.3 104.2 101.6 971979 97.5 100.5 107.6 NA 109.0 102.0 103.3 106.5 NA 109.7 92.6 103.0 99.8 951980 96.3 99.6 107.6 NA 109.3 100.4 104.0 106.4 NA 108.1 92.8 103.6 100.4 941981 96.4 98.7 106.8 NA 104.1 98.1 102.7 104.9 NA 106.8 92.8 104.1 100.5 951982 94.6 97.8 106.5 NA 103.9 100.2 104.2 100.8 NA 106.2 92.6 105.2 99.6 951983 97.2 99.1 106.6 NA 103.9 97.7 105.6 100.3 NA 106.4 92.6 105.3 100.1 961984 98.6 99.0 107.7 NA 104.8 97.1 105.3 100.4 NA 106.4 92.6 103.8 99.9 981985 98.7 99.6 107.3 110.6 101.7 98.5 101.8 99.8 NA 104.5 91.8 101.2 99.5 971986 98.6 100.1 106.7 112.6 103.5 98.6 104.2 100.0 NA 103.9 94.5 100.7 99.6 971987 99.1 100.9 107.2 110.7 103.6 99.4 101.8 100.7 NA 103.6 97.3 100.2 97.2 981988 100.0 103.0 108.3 108.0 102.3 101.1 101.8 101.2 NA 103.2 98.0 101.0 98.0 981989 100.0 100.7 107.1 103.9 100.8 100.6 100.6 101.0 NA 101.7 99.2 100.4 98.5 981990 99.4 100.2 105.6 102.3 99.9 101.8 99.4 100.5 NA 99.8 99.2 100.4 98.3 99

1991 98.7 99.8 103.2 101.4 100.0 100.0 99.7 99.5 96.3 99.1 100.1 100.1 98.9 991992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 101.3 101.0 97.9 100.2 100.0 98.5 99.2 99.9 97.6 97.0 98.4 99.9 100.3 1021994 102.2 102.0 98.1 100.8 100.2 101.2 NA 99.9 98.4 97.1 101.9 100.0 100.5 107

1995 101.5 101.6 98.9 101.0 99.9 100.1 NA 99.3 98.4 96.5 103.8 100.2 99.6 1081996 101.5 102.3 99.4 99.4 99.7 100.5 NA 99.4 96.2 95.0 102.5 100.1 99.0 1071997 102.2 102.2 98.8 98.0 100.0 100.6 NA 99.1 96.3 95.2 103.9 99.7 98.9 1071998 101.2 102.7 96.8 94.1 98.1 100.8 NA 98.9 96.6 96.2 103.2 99.5 99.2 1071999 102.0 103.8 96.7 101.7 98.7 103.3 NA 98.3 96.2 NA 103.6 99.5 99.5 108

2000 101.0 103.6 98.3 100.3 98.5 103.4 NA 95.0 95.3 NA 104.1 99.4 98.5 1072001 99.2 102.6 97.6 98.2 91.5 102.2 NA 92.9 94.2 NA 103.1 99.3 98.2 1062002 98.9 103.0 97.5 97.5 93.0 99.8 NA 92.1 93.6 NA 102.9 99.3 97.0 104

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 25 -

Table 7. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 8.7 5.4 NA NA NA NA 2.1 1.6 NA 3.4 0.9 3.0 2.2 1

1955 11.7 7.7 3.1 NA NA NA 2.8 2.9 NA 5.0 1.4 4.4 3.4 21960 14.9 10.0 4.3 NA NA 5.4 3.8 4.3 NA 8.1 1.8 6.2 4.7 41961 15.3 10.2 5.0 NA NA 5.7 4.3 4.8 NA 9.1 2.0 7.0 5.2 41962 15.9 10.6 5.7 NA NA 6.2 4.7 5.3 NA 10.3 2.3 7.5 5.7 5

1963 16.4 11.1 6.4 NA NA 6.8 5.1 5.8 NA 11.0 2.8 8.3 6.1 51964 17.0 11.5 7.2 NA NA 7.7 5.5 6.3 NA 11.9 2.9 9.6 6.5 61965 17.4 12.2 8.1 NA NA 8.5 6.2 6.8 NA 13.1 3.1 10.8 7.2 61966 18.2 13.1 8.9 NA NA 9.4 7.0 7.2 NA 14.2 3.3 12.1 7.8 71967 19.2 13.8 10.0 NA NA 10.3 7.8 7.7 NA 15.0 3.7 13.4 8.7 81968 20.7 14.7 11.7 NA NA 11.0 8.6 8.8 NA 16.1 3.9 14.9 9.6 81969 22.2 15.9 13.8 NA NA 12.1 9.7 9.3 NA 17.6 4.3 16.9 10.6 91970 23.7 17.1 16.4 NA NA 13.7 11.1 10.5 NA 20.7 5.3 19.4 11.8 101971 25.2 18.2 19.0 NA NA 15.9 12.8 11.8 NA 23.2 6.1 22.1 13.5 121972 26.5 19.5 21.9 NA NA 18.8 14.3 13.0 NA 25.6 6.7 25.4 15.2 131973 28.5 21.2 26.7 NA 9.5 22.3 17.5 14.9 NA 29.0 7.9 30.2 17.1 151974 31.6 24.6 35.1 NA 13.9 27.4 21.4 17.7 NA 33.0 10.3 36.0 20.1 171975 35.5 28.3 40.8 NA 14.9 33.1 25.7 21.6 NA 36.4 12.7 40.9 24.0 211976 38.4 32.5 44.0 NA 16.7 38.3 28.9 24.8 NA 39.1 15.8 45.7 27.7 251977 41.8 36.1 48.5 NA 18.2 41.4 32.2 28.1 NA 42.8 18.9 49.8 31.1 281978 45.2 38.8 51.7 NA 20.5 44.4 35.8 31.7 NA 45.9 21.5 53.7 34.1 311979 49.6 42.7 55.0 NA 24.3 47.2 40.4 35.9 NA 49.3 26.0 57.5 35.8 331980 55.6 47.6 58.5 NA 29.6 52.5 45.0 41.3 NA 53.6 30.4 60.5 39.0 371981 61.1 53.8 62.7 NA 38.0 57.3 50.0 48.0 NA 57.0 36.2 63.4 43.3 411982 67.0 61.0 65.8 NA 41.5 59.9 54.9 56.7 NA 60.4 42.2 67.0 48.2 441983 68.8 65.3 67.5 NA 43.3 65.7 59.4 62.6 NA 63.1 48.6 70.5 52.9 491984 71.2 69.0 69.6 NA 46.2 71.4 63.6 68.0 NA 66.0 55.7 73.5 57.9 531985 75.1 71.9 72.4 33.1 49.5 75.3 68.8 73.6 NA 70.0 63.1 77.5 63.4 581986 78.5 73.0 76.1 35.2 55.7 77.3 71.1 76.5 NA 72.8 65.9 80.4 69.1 631987 80.7 74.7 77.8 40.3 60.9 79.7 78.4 79.3 NA 76.0 69.4 84.7 78.4 671988 84.0 77.5 79.2 50.0 65.6 81.1 82.9 81.9 NA 79.1 74.6 85.3 83.3 711989 86.6 82.6 84.1 57.6 74.3 85.9 87.7 86.1 NA 83.2 80.9 86.8 87.2 791990 90.8 88.3 90.6 68.5 85.3 90.1 92.7 90.9 NA 89.4 87.6 89.8 92.3 871991 95.6 95.0 96.5 86.1 93.5 97.3 96.0 96.4 91.5 95.1 94.2 94.8 97.5 951992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 102.7 102.0 102.7 114.0 106.0 104.8 103.0 102.6 106.4 105.9 105.7 104.5 101.5 971994 105.6 103.7 104.7 129.5 111.1 106.1 NA 106.0 111.8 111.7 106.8 109.0 104.4 99

1995 107.9 106.0 108.3 158.1 120.3 109.2 NA 110.0 117.6 117.7 111.3 112.1 109.2 1061996 109.4 107.0 109.1 184.1 128.2 111.0 NA 112.1 123.3 123.7 119.0 114.4 113.6 1151997 111.5 109.3 112.6 197.7 132.3 115.2 NA 112.0 125.7 126.6 123.0 117.2 118.7 1211998 117.4 110.5 115.4 214.8 140.2 116.9 NA 112.6 127.6 127.6 122.2 122.0 125.7 1251999 122.1 112.3 114.8 211.1 144.0 118.4 NA 116.4 130.6 NA 124.2 126.0 133.0 130

2000 131.1 113.9 113.7 221.0 146.2 120.5 NA 120.8 137.2 NA 127.8 132.0 140.5 1352001 134.3 117.8 114.5 236.5 149.4 126.7 NA 126.9 141.4 NA 132.4 138.9 148.2 1392002 141.0 123.2 112.7 267.3 149.3 135.0 NA 130.9 144.5 NA 135.6 146.0 157.2 145

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees,  but are labor costs to employers.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 26 -

Table 8. Hourly compensation in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 8.7 6.0 NA NA NA NA 1.8 2.5 NA 1.3 1.9 1.4 1.9 2

1955 11.7 9.5 1.1 NA NA NA 2.5 4.3 NA 1.9 2.7 2.0 2.9 31960 14.9 12.4 1.5 NA NA 3.5 3.4 4.7 NA 3.0 3.5 2.9 4.1 41961 15.3 12.2 1.8 NA NA 3.7 3.8 5.1 NA 3.5 3.9 3.4 4.5 51962 15.9 12.0 2.0 NA NA 4.0 4.1 5.7 NA 4.0 4.6 3.7 5.0 51963 16.4 12.4 2.2 NA NA 4.4 4.5 6.2 NA 4.3 5.5 4.0 5.3 61964 17.0 12.9 2.5 NA NA 5.0 4.8 6.8 NA 4.7 5.8 4.7 5.6 61965 17.4 13.7 2.8 NA NA 5.5 5.4 7.3 NA 5.1 6.2 5.3 6.2 71966 18.2 14.7 3.1 NA NA 6.1 6.1 7.7 NA 5.5 6.6 5.9 6.8 81967 19.2 15.4 3.5 NA NA 6.7 6.8 8.3 NA 5.9 7.3 6.5 7.6 91968 20.7 16.5 4.1 NA NA 7.1 7.0 9.4 NA 6.3 7.8 7.2 8.4 91969 22.2 17.9 4.9 NA NA 7.7 7.8 9.5 NA 7.0 8.5 8.2 9.3 101970 23.7 19.8 5.8 NA NA 8.9 8.9 10.0 NA 8.9 10.3 9.4 10.3 121971 25.2 21.7 6.9 NA NA 10.5 10.4 11.3 NA 10.4 12.1 11.1 11.9 13

1972 26.5 23.8 9.2 NA NA 13.7 12.4 13.6 NA 12.6 14.1 13.9 14.3 161973 28.5 25.6 12.5 NA 6.3 18.5 17.6 17.8 NA 17.1 16.7 19.1 18.5 201974 31.6 30.5 15.2 NA 9.2 22.6 21.2 19.5 NA 19.9 19.4 23.6 22.6 231975 35.5 33.7 17.5 NA 9.9 29.0 27.0 26.7 NA 23.1 23.9 28.5 28.6 301976 38.4 39.9 18.8 NA 11.0 31.9 28.9 27.4 NA 24.3 23.5 30.4 31.6 341977 41.8 41.1 23.0 NA 12.1 37.1 32.4 30.3 NA 28.8 26.4 35.7 36.3 361978 45.2 41.2 31.5 NA 13.9 45.4 39.3 37.3 NA 35.8 31.2 43.7 40.4 401979 49.6 44.0 32.0 NA 16.9 51.7 46.4 44.6 NA 42.0 38.6 50.4 43.9 451980 55.6 49.1 32.8 NA 20.7 57.7 48.2 51.7 NA 46.1 43.8 53.6 49.0 511981 61.1 54.2 36.0 NA 26.0 49.5 42.3 46.7 NA 39.3 39.1 44.6 46.9 471982 67.0 59.7 33.5 NA 26.7 42.1 39.7 45.6 NA 38.8 38.4 44.1 46.4 411983 68.8 64.0 36.0 NA 27.2 41.3 39.2 43.5 NA 38.6 39.4 43.4 45.0 371984 71.2 64.4 37.1 NA 29.3 39.7 37.1 41.2 NA 36.3 39.1 40.3 44.1 371985 75.1 63.6 38.5 30.2 31.2 40.8 39.2 43.4 NA 37.2 40.7 41.1 45.8 391986 78.5 63.5 57.3 31.2 37.0 55.6 53.0 58.5 NA 52.4 54.4 57.7 58.0 511987 80.7 68.1 68.2 38.3 48.3 68.6 69.2 69.8 NA 66.0 66.0 73.6 72.3 621988 84.0 76.2 78.3 53.5 57.7 70.9 74.3 72.8 NA 70.4 70.6 75.9 79.3 681989 86.6 84.3 77.2 67.0 70.8 70.1 72.3 71.4 NA 69.1 72.7 71.9 78.4 711990 90.8 91.5 79.2 75.6 79.7 86.6 90.4 88.3 NA 86.4 90.1 86.7 91.7 861991 95.6 100.1 90.9 91.7 87.9 91.5 90.5 90.4 86.1 89.4 93.5 89.1 93.3 911992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 102.7 95.5 117.2 111.0 100.9 97.4 95.9 95.8 100.4 100.0 82.8 98.9 88.8 721994 105.6 91.7 129.9 126.0 105.6 102.1 NA 101.1 107.6 107.6 81.7 105.4 91.9 75

1995 107.9 93.3 146.1 160.5 114.2 119.1 NA 116.8 128.3 128.3 84.2 122.8 107.1 871996 109.4 94.8 127.2 179.4 117.4 115.3 NA 116.0 128.0 128.4 95.0 119.3 109.3 1001997 111.5 95.3 117.9 163.7 115.6 103.4 NA 101.5 113.2 114.0 88.9 105.6 104.1 921998 117.4 90.0 111.7 120.4 105.1 103.5 NA 101.0 113.3 113.3 86.7 108.2 103.4 921999 122.1 91.4 128.0 139.2 112.1 100.5 NA 100.0 111.1 NA 84.2 107.1 105.9 91

2000 131.1 92.6 133.7 153.4 117.7 88.6 NA 90.0 101.1 NA 75.1 97.3 99.1 852001 134.3 91.9 119.4 143.6 111.1 90.4 NA 91.7 101.1 NA 75.4 99.3 102.4 782002 141.0 94.8 114.1 167.7 108.8 101.7 NA 99.9 109.1 NA 81.6 110.1 122.3 86

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees,  but are labor costs to employers.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 27 -

Table 9. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 NA 20.9 NA NA NA NA 9.8 13.4 NA 25.5 7.0 26.3 8.8 9

1955 NA 24.2 36.5 NA NA NA 12.2 18.8 NA 25.4 7.2 30.0 11.5 131960 NA 26.4 31.3 NA NA 30.1 13.6 21.8 NA 27.8 7.5 32.9 12.6 151961 NA 25.7 32.1 NA NA 31.5 14.5 22.6 NA 29.7 7.7 35.5 13.3 151962 NA 24.8 35.0 NA NA 32.1 15.1 23.5 NA 31.5 8.2 36.6 14.6 161963 NA 24.9 36.1 NA NA 34.2 15.9 24.3 NA 32.2 9.5 38.8 14.8 161964 NA 24.9 35.8 NA NA 36.3 15.9 24.5 NA 32.1 10.0 41.1 15.0 161965 NA 25.1 38.7 NA NA 38.3 16.8 24.9 NA 33.3 9.6 43.2 15.7 171966 NA 26.5 38.9 NA NA 39.6 18.2 24.4 NA 34.7 9.4 45.4 16.4 181967 NA 27.6 38.5 NA NA 40.9 18.9 24.7 NA 34.5 9.9 46.8 17.7 181968 NA 27.9 40.0 NA NA 40.3 19.4 25.3 NA 34.3 9.8 46.4 18.4 181969 NA 28.8 41.4 NA NA 40.4 20.8 25.4 NA 35.0 10.4 47.9 18.5 181970 NA 31.1 43.8 NA 23.8 41.7 22.4 26.9 NA 39.8 11.9 50.4 20.0 201971 NA 31.2 47.8 NA 24.8 45.2 24.2 28.6 NA 42.9 13.5 54.1 22.2 221972 NA 31.8 50.2 NA 24.9 47.9 24.9 30.1 NA 44.7 13.9 57.7 23.7 231973 NA 32.6 56.2 NA 28.8 51.2 27.6 32.3 NA 47.5 15.1 61.9 25.2 241974 NA 37.2 71.9 NA 43.5 59.9 32.8 37.5 NA 52.1 18.6 68.7 28.4 271975 NA 44.7 81.4 NA 44.2 69.5 36.3 44.2 NA 55.2 24.2 79.2 34.3 331976 NA 47.3 82.7 NA 45.5 73.1 38.8 47.8 NA 55.4 26.4 79.9 38.8 381977 61.2 49.9 87.7 NA 47.3 75.3 41.7 51.3 NA 58.8 30.7 80.4 42.9 431978 65.3 52.6 89.9 NA 47.4 76.1 45.0 55.3 NA 61.1 33.1 83.2 46.1 461979 70.7 57.8 88.4 NA 53.8 76.8 48.5 60.4 NA 62.9 36.6 85.3 45.1 461980 78.8 65.2 92.6 NA 62.2 80.3 52.2 67.2 NA 69.4 41.0 87.6 50.0 511981 82.4 70.4 96.0 NA 72.1 81.7 57.3 73.8 NA 72.4 49.0 88.4 55.8 561982 87.9 79.1 96.8 NA 76.8 81.5 62.1 81.4 NA 76.7 57.0 92.7 59.6 581983 86.0 79.7 98.1 NA 75.2 81.1 63.5 85.4 NA 76.4 64.2 90.9 63.3 601984 85.6 77.8 97.8 NA 78.1 84.0 67.4 89.8 NA 77.3 67.9 86.2 65.3 621985 87.3 78.9 94.7 60.4 81.3 86.5 71.7 92.2 NA 78.6 72.2 87.6 69.2 681986 91.2 83.3 99.9 59.8 83.5 88.0 77.4 92.9 NA 81.2 74.9 89.6 76.5 721987 86.9 85.1 97.0 63.8 83.7 89.7 85.7 94.4 NA 86.3 77.8 93.7 82.8 751988 86.7 86.6 94.3 72.8 85.9 88.1 88.1 92.7 NA 86.5 79.4 92.4 89.0 791989 90.5 89.3 94.9 78.7 89.5 88.7 87.5 93.4 NA 87.9 84.8 90.0 90.8 851990 93.7 94.6 95.9 84.2 95.9 93.0 93.5 96.9 NA 90.3 91.5 91.1 94.2 921991 97.6 99.6 97.4 94.1 96.8 98.1 96.5 99.4 93.1 93.3 98.2 95.7 99.2 1001992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 100.6 96.4 101.0 105.4 103.0 102.3 103.7 101.9 104.5 105.3 104.3 102.4 101.9 901994 98.5 93.6 101.4 109.8 104.1 97.9 96.2 97.9 102.0 103.6 101.9 96.4 104.8 841995 94.8 94.3 97.6 122.4 104.5 96.4 96.4 96.7 104.7 105.9 103.0 95.6 108.4 851996 93.5 97.5 94.0 129.1 104.1 94.7 103.2 97.9 107.5 107.5 110.0 95.9 110.8 891997 91.9 96.2 93.0 121.0 102.3 90.7 99.4 91.9 104.5 103.9 111.9 96.5 116.4 851998 92.8 97.7 95.2 117.4 103.2 90.4 102.8 88.1 104.6 100.4 111.1 98.3 125.7 841999 91.3 96.8 90.6 104.4 100.7 91.9 103.7 87.5 107.6 NA 113.2 99.1 128.4 80

2000 92.3 96.1 83.6 101.5 97.1 90.4 102.5 84.3 108.3 NA 113.4 99.5 131.9 742001 94.1 101.5 85.6 109.5 93.3 93.9 101.4 85.0 110.1 NA 115.5 105.0 136.1 762002 92.8 104.6 80.1 115.4 87.4 94.1 101.8 85.4 110.0 NA 120.1 109.7 141.8 73

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees,  but are labor costs to employers.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 28 -

Table 10. Unit labor costs in manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 NA 23.1 NA NA NA NA 8.5 20.3 NA 9.5 13.8 12.2 7.7 10

1955 NA 29.7 12.8 NA NA NA 10.7 28.5 NA 9.4 14.1 13.9 10.0 151960 NA 32.9 11.0 NA NA 19.4 12.0 23.5 NA 10.4 15.0 15.3 11.0 16

1961 NA 30.6 11.3 NA NA 20.3 12.7 24.4 NA 11.6 15.3 17.2 11.6 171962 NA 28.1 12.3 NA NA 20.7 13.2 25.4 NA 12.3 16.3 17.9 12.7 181963 NA 27.8 12.7 NA NA 22.0 13.9 26.3 NA 12.6 18.8 18.9 12.9 181964 NA 27.9 12.5 NA NA 23.5 13.9 26.5 NA 12.6 19.8 20.0 13.0 191965 NA 28.2 13.6 NA NA 24.8 14.7 26.9 NA 13.0 19.0 21.1 13.6 191966 NA 29.7 13.6 NA NA 25.6 15.9 26.2 NA 13.6 18.6 22.0 14.3 201967 NA 30.9 13.5 NA NA 26.5 16.3 26.5 NA 13.5 19.6 22.8 15.4 211968 NA 31.3 14.1 NA NA 25.9 15.7 27.1 NA 13.4 19.4 22.5 16.0 201969 NA 32.3 14.6 NA NA 25.9 16.7 25.9 NA 13.9 20.4 23.2 16.1 211970 NA 36.0 15.5 NA 14.9 27.0 18.0 25.8 NA 17.1 23.3 24.5 17.4 231971 NA 37.3 17.4 NA 15.6 29.9 19.8 27.4 NA 19.3 26.9 27.3 19.6 251972 NA 38.8 21.0 NA 15.7 35.0 21.6 31.6 NA 21.9 29.4 31.6 22.4 281973 NA 39.3 26.3 NA 18.9 42.4 27.7 38.5 NA 28.0 32.0 39.2 27.2 331974 NA 46.0 31.3 NA 28.8 49.5 32.5 41.3 NA 31.5 35.2 45.0 32.0 361975 NA 53.1 34.8 NA 29.3 60.9 38.2 54.7 NA 35.1 45.7 55.2 40.9 471976 NA 58.0 35.4 NA 30.1 60.9 38.8 53.0 NA 34.4 39.2 53.2 44.1 521977 61.2 56.7 41.5 NA 31.3 67.6 42.0 55.2 NA 39.6 42.8 57.7 50.0 561978 65.3 55.8 54.7 NA 32.2 77.8 49.3 65.1 NA 47.6 48.1 67.7 54.7 601979 70.7 59.6 51.4 NA 37.5 84.2 55.7 75.2 NA 53.6 54.3 74.8 55.4 631980 78.8 67.4 51.8 NA 43.4 88.3 55.9 84.2 NA 59.6 59.0 77.5 62.9 701981 82.4 70.9 55.2 NA 49.2 70.6 48.4 71.8 NA 49.9 53.1 62.2 60.4 651982 87.9 77.5 49.3 NA 49.4 57.2 44.9 65.5 NA 49.3 51.9 61.0 57.4 541983 86.0 78.1 52.4 NA 47.2 51.0 41.9 59.3 NA 46.7 52.1 56.0 53.8 461984 85.6 72.5 52.2 NA 49.6 46.8 39.3 54.4 NA 42.4 47.7 47.2 49.7 441985 87.3 69.8 50.3 55.0 51.3 46.9 40.9 54.3 NA 41.7 46.6 46.4 50.0 461986 91.2 72.4 75.3 53.0 55.6 63.4 57.7 71.0 NA 58.5 61.9 64.4 64.3 591987 86.9 77.6 85.1 60.6 66.3 77.2 75.5 83.1 NA 74.9 73.9 81.3 76.4 691988 86.7 85.0 93.3 77.8 75.5 77.0 78.9 82.3 NA 76.9 75.2 82.2 84.8 751989 90.5 91.1 87.2 91.6 85.2 72.3 72.1 77.5 NA 73.0 76.1 74.6 81.7 761990 93.7 98.0 83.9 93.0 89.7 89.5 91.2 94.2 NA 87.3 94.1 87.9 93.6 911991 97.6 105.1 91.8 100.3 91.1 92.3 91.0 93.2 87.5 87.8 97.5 90.0 95.0 961992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 100.6 90.3 115.3 102.7 98.1 95.1 96.5 95.2 98.7 99.4 81.6 96.9 89.2 671994 98.5 82.8 125.8 106.8 99.0 94.2 91.4 93.4 98.2 99.8 77.9 93.2 92.3 641995 94.8 83.0 131.6 124.3 99.2 105.2 104.0 102.6 114.2 115.5 77.9 104.8 106.4 701996 93.5 86.4 109.5 125.9 95.4 98.3 107.5 101.3 111.6 111.6 87.9 100.0 106.6 771997 91.9 84.0 97.4 100.2 89.5 81.4 90.8 83.3 94.0 93.5 80.9 87.0 102.1 651998 92.8 79.6 92.2 65.8 77.4 80.0 92.6 79.1 92.9 89.1 78.8 87.2 103.5 611999 91.3 78.8 101.0 68.8 78.3 78.0 89.5 75.2 91.6 NA 76.7 84.3 102.2 56

2000 92.3 78.2 98.4 70.4 78.1 66.5 76.5 62.8 79.8 NA 66.6 73.3 93.0 472001 94.1 79.2 89.3 66.5 69.4 67.0 73.4 61.4 78.7 NA 65.8 75.0 94.0 432002 92.8 80.5 81.1 72.4 63.7 70.9 77.9 65.1 83.0 NA 72.2 82.8 110.3 44

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees,  but are labor costs to employers.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 29 -

Table 11. Exchange rates, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002 (Value of foreign currency relative to U.S. dollar)

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 100.0 110.5 35.2 NA NA NA 87.5 151.3 NA 37.2 197.3 46.2 87.1 112

1955 100.0 122.5 35.2 NA NA NA 87.4 151.2 NA 37.1 197.1 46.1 87.0 1121960 100.0 124.6 35.2 NA NA 64.5 87.6 107.9 NA 37.4 198.4 46.6 87.1 1121961 100.0 119.4 35.1 NA NA 64.5 87.4 107.9 NA 38.9 198.4 48.5 87.0 1121962 100.0 113.1 35.1 NA NA 64.6 87.5 108.0 NA 39.1 198.5 48.8 87.1 1131963 100.0 112.0 35.1 NA NA 64.5 87.4 108.0 NA 39.2 198.2 48.8 86.9 1121964 100.0 112.0 35.0 NA NA 64.6 87.3 108.0 NA 39.3 197.3 48.8 86.8 1131965 100.0 112.1 35.1 NA NA 64.8 87.3 108.0 NA 39.1 197.2 48.8 86.9 1121966 100.0 112.2 35.0 NA NA 64.5 87.4 107.7 NA 39.1 197.3 48.6 86.9 1121967 100.0 112.0 35.0 NA NA 64.7 86.5 107.6 NA 39.2 197.4 48.8 86.9 1121968 100.0 112.2 35.2 NA NA 64.4 80.7 106.9 NA 39.1 197.7 48.6 87.0 1121969 100.0 112.2 35.4 NA NA 64.1 80.3 102.2 NA 39.8 196.4 48.5 87.0 1121970 100.0 115.8 35.4 252.7 62.9 64.7 80.5 95.7 NA 42.8 196.5 48.6 86.9 1121971 100.0 119.7 36.5 226.0 62.9 66.2 81.6 96.1 NA 44.9 199.3 50.4 88.3 1141972 100.0 122.0 41.8 199.7 62.9 73.0 86.8 104.9 NA 49.0 211.1 54.8 94.3 1221973 100.0 120.8 46.8 197.0 65.8 82.8 100.2 119.3 NA 59.0 211.8 63.3 108.2 1331974 100.0 123.6 43.5 194.0 66.2 82.7 99.3 110.1 NA 60.5 189.4 65.5 112.6 1311975 100.0 118.8 42.7 162.1 66.2 87.6 105.3 123.6 NA 63.6 188.9 69.7 119.2 1401976 100.0 122.6 42.8 162.1 66.2 83.3 99.9 110.9 NA 62.1 148.4 66.6 113.9 1331977 100.0 113.7 47.3 162.1 66.2 89.7 100.6 107.7 NA 67.3 139.6 71.7 116.8 1301978 100.0 106.0 60.8 162.1 67.9 102.3 109.6 117.6 NA 77.9 145.2 81.4 118.6 1291979 100.0 103.2 58.1 162.1 69.8 109.6 114.8 124.4 NA 85.2 148.3 87.7 122.7 1351980 100.0 103.4 55.9 129.2 69.8 110.0 107.1 125.3 NA 85.9 143.9 88.5 125.8 1371981 100.0 100.8 57.5 115.2 68.3 86.4 84.6 97.3 NA 69.0 108.2 70.4 108.2 1151982 100.0 97.9 50.9 107.2 64.3 70.2 72.4 80.5 NA 64.3 91.0 65.8 96.2 921983 100.0 98.1 53.4 101.1 62.8 62.9 66.0 69.5 NA 61.2 81.1 61.6 85.1 751984 100.0 93.3 53.4 97.1 63.5 55.7 58.3 60.6 NA 54.9 70.2 54.8 76.2 701985 100.0 88.5 53.2 91.0 63.1 54.2 57.0 58.9 NA 53.1 64.5 53.0 72.3 671986 100.0 87.0 75.3 88.7 66.5 72.0 74.6 76.4 NA 72.0 82.6 71.8 84.0 811987 100.0 91.1 87.7 95.0 79.2 86.1 88.2 88.0 NA 86.9 95.0 86.8 92.2 911988 100.0 98.2 98.9 106.8 87.9 87.4 89.6 88.8 NA 88.9 94.6 88.9 95.2 941989 100.0 102.1 91.8 116.4 95.3 81.6 82.5 83.0 NA 83.0 89.8 82.9 89.9 901990 100.0 103.6 87.4 110.4 93.5 96.2 97.5 97.2 NA 96.6 102.8 96.6 99.4 981991 100.0 105.5 94.2 106.5 94.0 94.0 94.3 93.7 94.0 94.0 99.3 93.9 95.7 961992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 100.0 93.7 114.1 97.4 95.2 93.0 93.1 93.4 94.4 94.4 78.3 94.6 87.5 741994 100.0 88.4 124.1 97.2 95.1 96.2 95.0 95.4 96.3 96.3 76.5 96.7 88.1 751995 100.0 88.1 134.9 101.5 95.0 109.1 107.8 106.2 109.1 109.1 75.6 109.6 98.1 811996 100.0 88.6 116.5 97.5 91.6 103.8 104.1 103.5 103.8 103.8 79.9 104.3 96.2 861997 100.0 87.3 104.7 82.8 87.4 89.8 91.3 90.7 90.0 90.0 72.3 90.1 87.7 761998 100.0 81.5 96.8 56.0 75.0 88.5 90.1 89.7 88.8 88.8 70.9 88.7 82.3 731999 100.0 81.3 111.5 65.9 77.8 84.9 86.4 86.0 85.1 85.1 67.8 85.0 79.6 702000 100.0 81.4 117.6 69.4 80.5 73.6 74.6 74.5 73.7 NA 58.7 73.7 70.5 63

2001 100.0 78.0 104.3 60.7 74.4 71.3 72.5 72.2 71.5 NA 57.0 71.4 69.1 562002 100.0 77.0 101.2 62.8 72.9 75.3 76.6 76.3 75.5 NA 60.2 75.4 77.8 59

NA: Not Available** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 30 -

Table 12. Average annual compensation in manufacturing, national currency basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 8.8 5.9 NA NA NA NA 2.9 2.0 NA 4.9 1.0 3.9 2.9 2

1955 11.8 8.1 3.8 NA NA NA 3.9 3.4 NA 7.3 1.5 5.7 4.4 31960 14.8 10.4 5.3 NA NA 6.8 5.0 5.2 NA 10.7 1.9 8.1 6.0 5

1961 15.2 10.6 6.1 NA NA 7.2 5.5 5.8 NA 11.8 2.1 8.9 6.4 51962 16.0 11.1 6.9 NA NA 7.8 6.1 6.4 NA 13.0 2.4 9.4 7.0 61963 16.5 11.6 7.6 NA NA 8.6 6.5 7.0 NA 13.7 2.9 10.4 7.5 61964 17.3 12.1 8.5 NA NA 9.6 7.1 7.5 NA 14.8 3.1 11.9 8.0 71965 17.9 12.8 9.4 NA NA 10.5 7.8 8.1 NA 16.2 3.2 13.3 8.7 71966 18.8 13.7 10.4 NA NA 11.5 8.7 8.6 NA 17.4 3.4 14.8 9.5 81967 19.4 14.4 11.7 NA NA 12.4 9.7 9.2 NA 17.8 3.8 16.3 10.5 91968 20.9 15.4 13.6 NA NA 13.3 10.4 10.1 NA 19.4 4.1 17.9 11.3 91969 22.2 16.5 15.9 NA NA 14.4 11.6 11.0 NA 21.3 4.5 20.0 12.2 101970 23.3 17.6 18.7 NA NA 16.0 12.7 12.2 NA 24.8 5.3 22.5 13.4 111971 24.8 18.7 21.3 NA NA 18.2 14.7 13.6 NA 27.2 6.0 25.4 15.2 131972 26.5 20.1 24.3 NA NA 21.0 16.1 14.9 NA 29.8 6.5 28.8 16.8 141973 28.5 21.7 29.5 NA 10.6 24.3 18.7 16.8 NA 33.4 7.8 33.6 18.9 161974 31.0 25.0 37.0 NA 15.0 29.2 23.2 19.7 NA 37.2 9.8 38.8 21.8 181975 34.3 28.4 42.1 NA 16.4 33.3 27.0 23.3 NA 40.0 11.9 43.3 25.9 221976 37.6 32.7 46.7 NA 18.4 39.3 30.5 26.8 NA 44.3 14.9 48.3 29.2 251977 41.0 36.2 51.7 NA 20.1 42.3 33.7 30.2 NA 47.7 17.7 52.4 32.2 281978 44.3 39.2 55.3 NA 22.5 45.2 37.0 33.8 NA 50.6 20.1 56.0 34.6 301979 48.4 42.9 59.2 NA 26.5 48.1 41.8 38.2 NA 54.1 24.1 59.2 35.7 321980 53.5 47.3 63.0 NA 32.4 52.7 46.8 43.9 NA 57.9 28.2 62.7 39.1 351981 58.8 53.1 66.9 NA 39.6 56.1 51.3 50.3 NA 60.9 33.6 66.0 43.5 391982 63.3 59.7 70.0 NA 43.1 60.0 57.2 57.2 NA 64.1 39.0 70.5 48.0 421983 66.9 64.7 72.0 NA 44.9 64.2 62.7 62.8 NA 67.2 45.0 74.3 53.0 471984 70.2 68.3 74.9 NA 48.4 69.3 67.0 68.3 NA 70.3 51.5 76.4 57.9 521985 74.1 71.6 77.7 36.7 50.4 74.1 70.0 73.4 NA 73.1 57.9 78.5 63.1 571986 77.4 73.0 81.2 39.6 57.6 76.2 74.0 76.6 NA 75.6 62.3 81.0 68.8 611987 80.0 75.4 83.4 44.6 63.1 79.2 79.8 79.8 NA 78.8 67.6 84.9 76.2 661988 84.0 79.9 85.7 54.0 67.1 81.9 84.4 82.9 NA 81.7 73.1 86.1 81.6 701989 86.7 83.2 90.0 59.9 75.0 86.4 88.2 87.0 NA 84.6 80.3 87.1 85.9 771990 90.2 88.5 95.6 70.0 85.2 91.7 92.1 91.3 NA 89.2 86.9 90.2 90.8 871991 94.3 94.8 99.6 87.3 93.5 97.3 95.6 95.9 88.2 94.3 94.3 94.9 96.4 941992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 104.1 103.0 100.6 114.2 106.0 103.2 102.2 102.4 103.9 102.8 104.0 104.4 101.8 991994 108.0 105.8 102.8 130.6 111.4 107.4 106.0 105.9 109.9 108.5 108.8 109.0 104.9 1071995 109.5 107.6 107.0 159.7 120.1 109.2 109.7 109.3 115.8 113.6 115.6 112.3 108.7 1151996 111.0 109.5 108.5 182.9 127.7 111.6 112.1 111.4 118.6 117.6 122.0 114.5 112.5 1241997 113.9 111.7 111.3 193.8 132.3 115.8 117.3 111.0 121.0 120.5 127.7 116.8 117.3 1301998 118.8 113.5 111.7 202.2 137.5 117.8 120.6 111.4 123.3 122.8 126.1 121.4 124.6 1351999 124.5 116.6 111.0 214.6 142.1 122.3 125.7 114.4 125.6 NA 128.6 125.3 132.4 140

2000 132.5 118.0 111.7 221.7 144.1 124.6 130.8 114.8 130.7 NA 133.0 131.2 138.4 1452001 133.2 120.9 111.7 232.2 136.7 129.6 136.5 117.9 133.1 NA 136.6 138.0 145.6 1482002 139.5 127.0 109.9 260.6 138.9 134.7 143.0 120.5 135.3 NA 139.6 144.9 152.4 151

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees,  but are labor costs to employers.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 31 -

Table 13. Real hourly compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 46.6 37.0 NA NA NA NA 23.9 20.1 NA 11.7 19.1 16.6 26.3 25

1955 56.4 46.5 18.2 NA NA NA 26.6 27.1 NA 15.9 22.3 20.5 29.5 301960 65.0 54.6 23.1 NA NA 24.5 32.3 30.6 NA 23.6 26.8 25.5 36.4 351961 66.3 55.5 25.6 NA NA 25.7 34.8 32.7 NA 25.8 29.0 28.8 38.7 371962 68.1 56.9 27.3 NA NA 27.2 35.5 34.6 NA 28.4 32.7 30.0 40.4 401963 69.3 58.3 28.4 NA NA 29.4 36.6 36.0 NA 29.4 36.1 32.0 42.0 431964 71.2 59.6 30.7 NA NA 31.9 38.2 37.8 NA 31.1 36.3 35.1 42.5 451965 71.6 61.7 32.1 NA NA 34.0 39.8 40.0 NA 33.0 37.2 37.8 45.0 481966 72.8 63.8 33.7 NA NA 36.0 42.4 41.2 NA 34.7 38.7 40.0 47.6 491967 74.4 64.9 36.3 NA NA 38.3 44.2 43.2 NA 36.1 41.2 42.9 51.0 521968 76.9 66.6 40.1 NA NA 39.8 45.0 47.1 NA 38.3 43.3 46.0 54.3 561969 78.2 68.9 45.2 NA NA 42.0 49.0 48.3 NA 41.0 46.3 48.6 58.1 581970 79.2 71.5 49.9 NA NA 46.1 52.4 51.7 NA 46.7 53.7 53.8 58.3 611971 80.5 73.9 54.3 NA NA 51.0 57.4 55.0 NA 49.8 59.1 57.0 62.9 641972 82.0 75.7 59.6 NA NA 57.2 60.2 57.2 NA 52.3 61.5 60.7 65.8 671973 83.1 76.6 65.3 NA 32.7 63.5 67.4 61.0 NA 55.4 65.7 66.7 69.0 691974 83.1 80.2 69.4 NA 32.5 69.3 71.3 63.7 NA 58.9 71.7 72.4 74.0 741975 85.4 83.2 72.4 NA 33.0 74.3 78.1 69.5 NA 61.2 75.7 74.9 79.1 831976 87.5 88.8 71.3 NA 36.0 78.8 80.7 72.6 NA 63.1 80.9 76.8 83.9 881977 89.3 91.2 72.7 NA 36.8 79.4 81.1 75.4 NA 66.7 82.7 78.6 86.3 861978 90.3 89.9 74.4 NA 39.2 81.5 81.8 77.8 NA 69.9 83.9 81.4 87.4 881979 90.6 90.6 76.3 NA 42.2 82.9 84.2 79.5 NA 72.2 88.5 83.5 87.6 891980 91.4 91.6 75.3 NA 43.3 86.5 83.4 80.6 NA 74.6 85.3 82.2 86.0 871981 91.9 92.0 76.8 NA 47.8 87.7 83.0 82.6 NA 74.6 86.1 80.6 84.1 861982 95.1 94.1 78.5 NA 50.7 84.4 82.7 87.3 NA 75.0 86.2 80.6 84.1 851983 93.9 95.2 79.1 NA 52.1 86.0 83.8 88.0 NA 76.0 86.6 82.6 85.1 841984 93.4 96.4 79.7 NA 55.6 87.8 84.4 88.9 NA 77.6 89.6 83.4 87.7 851985 95.3 96.6 81.3 50.1 59.8 88.3 87.1 90.7 NA 80.7 93.0 86.0 90.8 871986 97.8 94.1 84.9 51.8 66.7 89.6 86.9 91.9 NA 84.0 91.7 89.0 92.4 901987 97.3 92.3 86.8 57.5 72.6 90.9 92.2 92.3 NA 87.7 92.2 94.2 96.4 921988 97.7 92.1 87.6 66.7 77.2 91.4 93.2 93.0 NA 90.3 94.4 94.0 96.0 941989 96.6 93.4 91.0 72.7 83.8 94.0 94.1 94.3 NA 92.3 96.3 94.7 96.1 981990 96.4 94.7 95.1 79.6 92.3 95.2 96.9 96.3 NA 96.6 98.0 95.6 97.7 971991 98.0 96.3 98.0 91.5 97.7 99.7 98.0 99.0 96.2 99.0 99.1 97.9 99.8 971992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 100.3 100.2 101.4 108.7 102.9 102.0 101.7 100.5 101.9 102.1 101.2 101.8 99.2 951994 101.0 101.6 102.7 116.4 103.7 100.9 NA 102.1 104.3 104.8 98.3 103.4 100.6 95

1995 100.7 101.7 106.3 136.0 108.3 102.3 NA 104.2 107.8 108.6 97.4 104.2 102.7 971996 99.4 101.1 107.0 150.8 111.9 101.9 NA 104.1 111.4 112.7 100.1 104.3 105.6 1041997 99.2 101.6 108.4 155.2 114.5 104.0 NA 102.7 111.5 113.3 101.4 104.6 107.5 1081998 103.0 101.4 110.5 156.8 119.3 104.6 NA 102.6 112.1 113.3 98.8 106.8 111.3 1111999 104.9 101.3 110.3 152.8 122.3 104.7 NA 105.5 114.0 NA 98.8 107.9 115.2 112

2000 109.0 99.9 109.9 156.5 122.7 103.9 NA 107.7 118.1 NA 99.1 110.2 118.0 1192001 108.6 100.8 111.5 160.9 125.4 106.7 NA 111.3 119.3 NA 99.9 111.0 120.8 1202002 112.3 103.3 110.7 177.0 125.6 111.8 NA 112.6 120.4 NA 99.9 112.6 126.5 122

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 32 -

Table 14. Real average annual compensation in manufacturing, CPI basis, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 47.3 40.3 NA NA NA NA 33.6 24.3 NA 17.1 20.1 21.5 34.4 32

1955 57.2 48.7 21.7 NA NA NA 36.8 32.6 NA 23.3 24.0 26.8 38.6 391960 64.7 56.8 28.6 NA NA 30.8 42.4 36.9 NA 31.0 29.2 33.7 45.8 431961 66.0 57.5 31.2 NA NA 32.2 44.3 39.7 NA 33.4 31.3 36.4 48.1 451962 68.5 59.4 32.7 NA NA 34.2 45.5 41.8 NA 35.8 34.1 37.7 49.9 481963 69.9 61.0 33.6 NA NA 37.0 46.3 43.5 NA 36.5 37.8 40.1 51.8 511964 72.4 62.7 36.2 NA NA 39.9 48.7 45.5 NA 38.7 38.1 43.4 52.7 531965 73.5 64.9 37.3 NA NA 41.9 50.7 47.7 NA 40.9 37.8 46.7 54.5 561966 75.0 66.6 39.3 NA NA 44.0 53.0 49.4 NA 42.4 39.7 49.2 57.8 571967 75.3 67.8 42.4 NA NA 46.2 54.5 51.3 NA 42.9 42.8 52.4 61.3 601968 77.7 69.4 46.7 NA NA 48.1 54.3 54.3 NA 46.1 45.0 55.3 63.7 621969 78.4 71.5 51.9 NA NA 50.2 58.4 57.1 NA 49.5 47.9 57.5 66.6 641970 77.8 73.7 56.7 NA NA 53.6 60.4 60.4 NA 56.0 54.5 62.6 66.4 681971 79.2 76.0 60.7 NA NA 58.5 65.9 63.7 NA 58.4 58.3 65.6 70.8 701972 82.1 77.9 66.2 NA NA 64.1 67.7 65.5 NA 60.7 60.2 68.9 73.0 721973 83.0 78.3 71.9 NA 36.5 69.4 71.7 68.8 NA 63.8 65.1 74.2 76.1 731974 81.5 81.4 73.3 NA 34.9 73.8 77.4 71.0 NA 66.5 68.6 78.1 80.5 771975 82.5 83.4 74.7 NA 36.3 74.8 82.1 75.1 NA 67.4 71.1 79.3 85.6 851976 85.5 89.1 75.7 NA 39.8 80.8 85.2 78.8 NA 71.4 76.0 81.2 88.3 891977 87.6 91.4 77.4 NA 40.6 81.1 84.8 81.0 NA 74.3 77.3 82.7 89.3 861978 88.6 90.8 79.5 NA 43.0 83.1 84.6 82.9 NA 76.9 78.3 84.8 88.7 861979 88.4 91.1 82.1 NA 46.0 84.6 87.0 84.7 NA 79.2 81.9 86.0 87.4 861980 88.1 91.2 81.0 NA 47.4 86.9 86.7 85.8 NA 80.6 79.2 85.1 86.3 831981 88.5 90.8 82.1 NA 49.8 86.0 85.2 86.7 NA 79.7 79.9 83.9 84.6 821982 90.0 92.0 83.5 NA 52.7 84.5 86.2 88.0 NA 79.7 79.8 84.8 83.8 811983 91.2 94.3 84.4 NA 54.1 84.0 88.5 88.2 NA 80.8 80.2 87.0 85.2 811984 92.1 95.4 85.8 NA 58.3 85.3 88.9 89.2 NA 82.6 82.9 86.6 87.6 841985 94.0 96.2 87.2 55.5 60.8 87.0 88.7 90.5 NA 84.3 85.3 87.1 90.4 851986 96.4 94.2 90.6 58.3 69.0 88.3 90.5 92.0 NA 87.3 86.7 89.7 92.0 881987 96.5 93.2 93.0 63.7 75.2 90.4 93.8 92.9 NA 90.9 89.8 94.4 93.7 911988 97.7 94.9 94.9 72.0 79.0 92.4 94.9 94.1 NA 93.2 92.5 94.9 94.0 921989 96.6 94.1 97.4 75.6 84.5 94.5 94.6 95.3 NA 93.9 95.6 95.1 94.7 961990 95.9 94.9 100.4 81.4 92.2 96.9 96.3 96.8 NA 96.4 97.2 95.9 96.1 961991 96.7 96.1 101.2 92.8 97.7 99.7 97.6 98.5 92.7 98.2 99.2 98.0 98.7 961992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 101.6 101.2 99.3 109.0 102.9 100.5 100.9 100.4 99.5 99.1 99.6 101.7 99.5 971994 103.2 103.6 100.7 117.3 103.9 102.1 102.7 102.0 102.5 101.7 100.2 103.4 101.1 1021995 102.2 103.3 105.0 137.4 108.1 102.3 104.0 103.5 106.1 104.9 101.1 104.4 102.3 1051996 100.8 103.4 106.3 149.9 111.5 102.4 104.1 103.4 107.2 107.1 102.6 104.4 104.6 1121997 101.3 103.8 107.1 152.1 114.5 104.6 106.6 101.8 107.3 107.9 105.3 104.3 106.3 1161998 104.3 104.2 106.9 147.6 117.0 105.4 107.6 101.5 108.4 109.0 101.9 106.2 110.4 1201999 107.0 105.1 106.6 155.4 120.7 108.2 109.5 103.7 109.7 NA 102.3 107.3 114.6 121

2000 110.2 103.6 108.0 157.0 120.9 107.5 110.6 102.3 112.5 NA 103.2 109.6 116.2 1282001 107.8 103.5 108.8 157.9 114.7 109.1 112.8 103.4 112.4 NA 103.1 110.2 118.7 1272002 111.1 106.4 108.0 172.6 116.8 111.6 115.5 103.7 112.7 NA 102.8 111.8 122.7 127

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.
- 33 -

Table 15. Total labor compensation in manufacturing, 14 countries or areas, 1950-2002

(Indexes: 1992=100)

United Former West Nether- 

Year States Canada* Japan Korea Taiwan Belgium Denmark France* Germany** Germany** Italy lands Norway Swed

1950 7.4 4.6 NA NA NA NA 2.8 2.2 NA 3.7 0.7 4.4 3.4 2

1955 11.0 6.9 1.8 NA NA NA 3.9 3.9 NA 7.0 1.1 6.9 5.5 41960 13.7 8.8 3.4 NA NA 9.2 6.1 6.1 NA 11.6 1.7 10.5 7.3 6

1961 13.7 8.9 4.1 NA NA 10.1 6.8 6.8 NA 13.1 2.0 11.7 8.0 71962 14.8 9.6 4.9 NA NA 11.1 7.7 7.6 NA 14.5 2.3 12.7 8.9 81963 15.4 10.2 5.6 NA NA 12.4 8.2 8.4 NA 15.2 2.8 14.0 9.5 91964 16.4 11.2 6.5 NA NA 14.3 9.1 9.3 NA 16.4 3.0 16.2 10.3 101965 17.8 12.4 7.3 NA NA 15.6 10.3 9.9 NA 18.3 3.1 18.3 11.3 111966 19.8 14.0 8.3 NA NA 17.1 11.4 10.6 NA 19.4 3.3 20.2 12.6 121967 20.7 14.9 9.8 NA NA 17.9 12.0 11.2 NA 18.9 3.8 21.6 14.0 121968 22.6 15.9 11.8 NA NA 18.8 13.1 12.1 NA 20.7 4.1 23.5 14.9 131969 24.6 17.5 14.2 NA NA 21.1 14.9 13.6 NA 23.6 4.6 26.6 16.1 141970 24.8 18.3 17.2 NA 3.0 24.0 16.5 15.5 NA 28.2 5.7 30.1 18.2 161971 25.3 19.5 19.6 NA 3.9 27.2 18.2 17.5 NA 30.7 6.6 33.5 20.8 181972 27.8 21.6 22.4 NA 4.7 31.0 20.3 19.3 NA 33.0 7.2 36.6 23.2 191973 31.5 24.4 28.3 NA 6.4 36.1 23.6 22.3 NA 37.3 8.8 42.1 26.0 211974 34.2 28.5 35.3 NA 9.1 43.9 28.2 26.4 NA 40.5 11.5 48.4 30.4 251975 34.5 31.5 37.9 NA 9.7 47.2 29.8 30.5 NA 40.9 14.1 52.2 35.8 311976 39.2 36.1 41.8 NA 12.3 53.4 33.7 34.9 NA 44.2 17.7 55.9 40.3 361977 44.4 39.3 45.8 NA 14.5 55.2 36.8 39.2 NA 47.8 21.2 59.0 44.6 371978 50.0 43.8 48.3 NA 17.6 56.5 39.9 43.2 NA 50.6 24.1 61.6 47.0 391979 55.9 49.6 51.6 NA 21.5 58.6 45.0 48.1 NA 54.8 29.4 64.5 47.9 421980 59.7 54.5 56.0 NA 27.4 62.8 49.3 54.8 NA 59.2 34.6 67.4 52.5 461981 65.3 60.9 60.1 NA 34.1 63.1 51.8 60.6 NA 61.0 40.1 69.0 57.5 491982 65.6 62.2 62.6 NA 37.2 65.5 57.1 67.9 NA 62.5 45.7 70.9 61.1 511983 68.1 65.7 65.4 NA 40.7 68.6 62.3 73.0 NA 63.2 51.1 71.2 64.0 571984 75.0 71.3 69.4 NA 48.6 73.2 69.5 77.0 NA 65.9 55.8 71.6 69.2 631985 78.5 76.5 72.6 29.4 52.3 77.1 76.1 80.7 NA 69.4 61.3 74.5 76.0 701986 80.8 80.6 75.5 34.6 62.5 78.5 82.7 82.6 NA 72.9 64.7 77.8 83.8 751987 83.8 85.7 76.7 43.7 70.5 79.7 87.2 84.1 NA 76.0 69.2 82.4 92.8 801988 89.5 94.0 80.5 55.9 75.3 82.3 88.9 86.4 NA 78.6 75.5 83.4 94.9 871989 92.8 99.3 86.3 62.5 81.2 87.9 91.8 91.2 NA 82.6 83.3 85.0 93.2 941990 95.1 100.2 93.2 73.0 86.4 94.0 96.1 96.1 NA 89.5 90.9 90.2 95.5 1021991 96.0 98.6 99.4 89.4 93.1 98.8 98.0 99.2 95.2 96.0 97.6 95.6 98.2 1041992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1001993 104.2 102.1 97.3 111.1 105.5 99.2 99.1 97.5 96.6 96.6 100.6 100.1 103.6 921994 109.4 106.8 96.2 128.2 112.9 99.3 101.6 98.2 97.0 96.8 104.3 100.7 109.6 991995 112.2 112.8 96.4 159.0 120.0 100.4 107.6 101.4 99.7 99.2 110.5 103.4 116.3 1131996 113.4 116.7 96.8 179.1 125.3 101.0 110.2 102.4 99.4 99.4 116.0 104.4 122.3 1211997 117.5 122.9 99.1 178.9 131.3 103.3 114.5 100.9 99.9 99.5 121.7 107.7 132.9 1251998 123.5 129.8 95.4 160.7 136.9 105.3 118.9 101.3 102.2 101.2 123.0 113.0 142.9 1331999 127.4 136.5 92.3 172.8 142.4 107.7 122.0 103.8 103.0 NA 124.8 116.6 145.8 1382000 134.8 143.0 91.3 194.7 147.4 110.3 125.2 104.8 108.1 NA 128.9 122.1 148.8 1422001 129.2 146.0 88.9 214.5 133.5 114.9 129.3 108.8 110.5 NA 132.4 127.7 154.3 1442002 126.1 154.3 81.9 240.3 133.3 115.7 130.3 109.4 110.0 NA 136.6 131.3 159.7 143

NA: Not AvailableNote: The data relate to employees (wage and salary earners) in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Taiwanand to all employed persons (employees and self-employed workers) in the other countries.* Compensation adjusted to include changes in employment taxes that are not compensation to employees, but are labor

 costs to employers.** See note on Germany in box on page 4.Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2003.