2010 International Comparisons of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Cost Trends — 2011-10-13

Productivity growth in manufacturing increased in 2010 in all countries covered, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In the majority of countries labor productivity (output per hour) rose by more than 5 percent (see chart 1). In the previous year, productivity fell in 12 of 19 countries. The productivity increases in 2010 were driven by large gains in output coupled with modest changes in hours (see chart 2). Output, after having fallen in all countries in 2009, rose in all countries in 2010. The data presented for the United States differ from those in the BLS Productivity and Costs news release. (See technical notes.) PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT: Chart 1. Percent changes in manufacturing output per hour, 2009-2010 PRINTED COPY CONTAINS CHART AT THIS POINT: Chart 2.