2003 International Comparisons of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Cost Trends — 2004-09-30

The increase in U.S. manufacturing productivity in 2003 was the second highest (+6.8 percent) among the 14 economies compared, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Korea registered the largest gain (+9.0 percent). Manufacturing productivity also increased in all the compared economies, except for Italy. (See chart 1.) In this news release, data for Australia are included for the first time. As in 2002, U.S. productivity growth in manufacturing in 2003 was substantially above its average annual growth rate since 1979. Seven of the other 12 economies for which comparisons are available also had productivity growth in 2003 that exceeded their annual average over the 1979-2003 period. (Average annual growth rates for selected measures over various time periods are found in tables A and B.) PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT Chart 1.