1996 International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing — 1997-06-27

Hourly compensation costs for production workers in manufacturing in the United States in 1996 were 10 percent higher than the average cost level for 28 foreign economies studied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Costs in Europe and Japan remained above that in the United States (25 and 19 percent higher, respectively). Costs in Japan fell below the average cost level in Europe for the first time since 1992. A gain in hourly compensation costs in Canada brought their cost level to 94 percent of the U.S. costs. (See charts 1 and 2 and tables 1, 2, and 3.) Costs for manufacturing production workers in the Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs) studied rose at a slower rate in 1996 than in the past two years, reaching about 40 percent of the U.S. level. Labor costs in manufacturing in Mexico declined slightly in U.S.