2011 International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing — 2012-12-19

In comparison with 33 foreign countries covered, U.S. manufacturing hourly compensation costs in 2011 ranked approximately in the middle at $35.53, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today (see chart 1). In addition to Australia, Canada, Italy, and Japan, countries with higher hourly compensation costs were primarily in northern and western Europe. Countries with lower hourly compensation costs were primarily in southern and eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Between 1997 and 2011, compensation costs in manufacturing as a percent of U.S. costs (see table 1) increased or remained the same in all economies compared except Taiwan, improving U.S. cost competitiveness. Changes in a country's compensation costs in U.S. dollars are roughly equivalent to the change in compensation costs in a country's national currency plus the change in the value of the country's currency relative to the U.S. dollar.