1992 International Comparisons of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Cost Trends — 1993-08-25

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported on 1992 developments in manufacturing labor productivity (output per hour) and unit labor costs in the United States and other industrial economies. The U.S. manufacturing productivity gain of 4.6 percent in 1992 was below the gain recorded by the United Kingdom, was about the same as Sweden's increase, and exceeded the increases found in Canada and the six other European economies covered by the BLS comparative measures. The only decline in manufacturing productivity occurred in Japan. (See table A.) The United States, with a 1.5 percent decrease, was the only economy studied in which manufacturing unit labor costs, measured on a national currency basis, declined in 1992. Canadian unit labor costs were unchanged in Canadian dollars, but fell 5 percent when measured in U.S. dollars. Adjusted for changes in foreign currency values relative to the U.S.