2005 International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing — 2006-11-30

Average hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars for production workers in manufacturing among 32 foreign economies were 80 percent of the U.S. level in 2005, virtually unchanged from 79 percent in 2004, according to data issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Compensation costs relative to the United States rose or remained unchanged in 21 of the economies covered in 2005. (See table 1.) Data for Poland, a relatively low labor cost country, are included in this release for the first time. A note on China's labor costs appears on page 5 of this release. In the United States, hourly compensation costs for production workers in manufacturing increased 3.6 percent in 2005, to $23.65. When measured in national currency terms, trade-weighted average costs increased 2.9 percent in the combined 32 foreign economies in 2005.