United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
Report 909
Comparative compensation costs
TABLES
Japanese hourly compensation costs for manufacturing production workers increased in 1995 to a new high-38 percent above the cost level in the United States. Relative to the United States, compensation costs also reached historic highs in Europe as a whole and in the newly industrializing economies (NIEs) of Asia, while relative costs declined slightly in Canada and fell sharply in Mexico. This report presents highlights of comparative levels and trends in hourly compensation costs for production workers in manufacturing in 26 foreign countries or areas in 1995. The 1995 compensation statistics are preliminary measures; for some of the foreign countries, they are based on less than full-year data. Foreign currency exchange rates used in the calculations are the average daily exchange rates for the year. Tables 1 through 5 present data on levels and trends in total hourly compensation costs; tables 6 and 7 present data on exchange rates.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has developed comparative measures of hourly compensation costs in order to provide a basis for assessing international differences in employer labor costs. Total compensation costs include pay for time worked; other direct pay; employer expenditures for legally required insurance programs and contractual and private benefit plans; and, for some countries, other labor taxes. Definitions and computation methods for the BLS measures are summarized in the technical notes.
In most of the foreign economies studied in this report, comparative compensation costs reached historic highs in 1995. In Japan, relative compensation costs rose to 138 percent of average U.S. costs for manufacturing production workers (table 1 and chart 2). The trade-weighted average cost level1 in the European countries covered rose to 128 percent of U.S. costs; relative compensation costs rose in each of these countries. Germany2 and Switzerland rose to the highest relative costs-185 percent and 170 percent of the U.S. cost level, respectively. Hourly compensation costs in the Asian NIEs-Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan-continued to rise, reaching 37 percent of U.S. costs. Relative compensation costs also rose in Australia and New Zealand. In contrast, compensation costs in Canada declined slightly to 93 percent of the U.S. level, while compensation costs in Mexico fell sharply from 15 to 9 percent of U.S. costs. The trade-weighted average of the 25 foreign economies3 increased to an all-time high of 95 percent of the U.S. cost level.
Among individual European countries, hourly compensation costs in 1995 were 85 percent higher than U.S. costs in Germany, 70 percent higher in Switzerland, and 56 percent higher in Belgium. Cost levels were between 40 and 50 percent higher than U.S. costs in Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Norway; about 25 percent higher in Sweden; and 12 percent higher in France. Six European countries for which 1995 data are available had lower average hourly compensation costs than the United States: Italy (96 percent of U.S. costs), Ireland and the United Kingdom (80 percent), Spain (74 percent), Greece (52 percent), and Portugal (31 percent).
Among the Asian NIEs, compensation cost levels in 1995 ranged from 28 percent in Hong Kong and 34 percent in Taiwan to 42-43 percent in Korea and Singapore. The other Pacific Rim economies, Australia and New Zealand, had relative cost levels of 84 percent and 59 percent, respectively.
In the United States, hourly compensation costs for manufacturing production workers increased 2 percent in 1995, one of the smallest annual increases since the series began in 1975. For 23 foreign economies (the 25 foreign economies less Mexico and Israel, the two countries with very high inflation rates and very large currency changes over the 1975-95 period, particularly Mexico in 1995), the average increase was 31/2 percent before adjustment for exchange-rate changes. In most of the foreign countries, the 1995 cost increases in national currencies were more moderate than those in the early 1990s.
Changes over time in relative compensation cost levels in U.S. dollars are affected by the differences in underlying national wage and benefit trends. The changes are also affected by frequent and sometimes sharp changes in relative values of currency exchange rates. Table A shows annual percent changes in hourly compensation costs measured in U.S. dollars and in national currency terms for each country or area and the selected economic groups. The table also shows percent changes in the exchange rates.
The trade-weighted average percent change in the commercial market exchange rates for the 23 foreign economies was 5 percent relative to the U.S. dollar in 1995. After adjustment for exchange-rate changes, hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars rose 9 percent in 1995.
In contrast, the exchange-rate value of the Mexican peso fell by almost 50 percent and hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars declined by nearly 40 percent. Most other currency exchange rates rose in 1995, some substantially. The exchange-rate value of the yen rose nearly 9 percent, contributing to a 12-percent increase in Japanese compensation costs measured in U.S. dollars.
European currency exchange rates appreciated by an average of 9 percent relative to the U.S. dollar, and hourly compensation costs rose an average of 13 percent measured in U.S. dollars. The largest exchange-rate increases were almost 20 percent in Finland and over 15 percent in Switzerland. The exchange rate declined relative to the U.S. dollar only in Italy. Measured in U.S. dollars, the rise in hourly compensation costs ranged from almost 30 percent in Finland to 21/2 percent in Italy.
For the Asian NIEs, the trade-weighted average exchange rate increased by 21/2 percent relative to the U.S. dollar in 1995, and hourly compensation costs increased by 101/2 percent in U.S. dollars. Currency exchange rates were unchanged in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but the Korean won appreciated by 4 percent and the Singapore dollar by 8 percent. Hourly compensation costs measured in U.S. dollars rose about 151/2 percent in Korea and Singapore, 6 percent in Taiwan, and 41/2 percent in Hong Kong.
In the United States, hourly compensation costs increased, on average, 5 percent per year between 1975 and 1995. The trade-weighted average increase in the 25 foreign economies was 101/2 percent per year, when measured in national currencies (table 5). However, the average exchange-rate value of the 25 foreign currencies declined about 2 percent per year from 1975 to 1995; and hourly compensation costs for the 25 foreign economies, measured in U.S. dollars, increased 8 percent per year (tables 7 and 3, respectively). Excluding Mexico and Israel, the trade-weighted average increase in hourly compensation costs, measured in national currencies, was less than 8 percent per year, while the average exchange rate value relative to the U.S. dollar appreciated almost 1 percent per year. As a result, hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars increased, on average, about 81/2 percent per year between 1975 and 1995 for the 23 economies.
The average increase in the underlying foreign compensation cost (that is, compensation costs measured in national currencies) was larger than in the United States in each subperiod shown in table 3. However, there were sharp changes in average exchange rate values in some periods (see table 7). Consequently, hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars in the 25 foreign economies rose from 60 percent of the U.S. cost level in 1975 to 67 percent in 1980, dropped to 52 percent in 1985, then increased sharply to 83 percent in 1990 and continued to increase to 95 percent of the U.S. cost level in 1995.
Mexico. The increase in hourly compensation costs in pesos averaged 37 percent per year
between 1975 and 1995. The exchange rate of the peso relative to the U.S. dollar declined
27 percent per year, on average. Hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars were unchanged
between 1975 and 1995. However, the trends in hourly compensation costs in pesos, the
exchange rate of the peso relative to the U.S. dollar, and hourly compensation costs in
U.S. dollars varied widely during this period. Hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars
declined from 24 percent of the U.S. cost level in 1976 to 18 percent in 1977, then rose
to 26 percent of U.S. costs in 1981. They fell to 8 percent of U.S. costs in 1986 and
1987, increased to 15 percent in 1993 and 1994, then fell again to 9 percent of the U.S.
cost level in 1995. (See table 1.)
Canada. The underlying trend in hourly compensation costs in Canada was higher than in the
United States, increasing on average about 61/2 percent per year between 1975 and 1995.
Because the Canadian dollar exchange rate declined about 11/2 percent per year from 1975
to 1995, the trend in Canadian hourly compensation costs measured in U.S. dollars was the
same as the compensation trend in the United States-5 percent per year between 1975 and
1995.
However, mostly due to the changes in the Canadian dollar exchange rate, hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars fell from a peak of 102 percent of U.S. costs in 1976 (not shown in table 1) to 84 percent in 1985-86, then increased to 110 percent of the U.S. cost level in 1991, and declined again to 93 percent of the U.S. cost level in 1995.
Europe. The trade-weighted average trend in hourly compensation costs, measured in national currencies, in the European countries was higher than in the United States-a 21/2 percentage point difference per year between 1975 and 1995. The difference also was about the same for each of the subperiods shown in table 5. However, after adjustment for exchange rates, relative changes in hourly compensation costs measured in U.S. dollars diverged sharply in different periods.
European average hourly compensation costs rose from 76 percent of the U.S. level in 1976 (not shown in table 1) to 101 percent in 1980, then fell to 61 percent of the U.S. level in 1985 as the dollar appreciated strongly. The European cost level rose to 104 percent of U.S. costs in 1988, declined to 99 percent in 1989, increased to 122 percent in 1992, fell to 111 percent in 1993, and then rose sharply, to a new high of 128 percent in 1995.
Japan. The underlying trend in hourly compensation costs was more moderate in Japan than in the United States from 1975 to 1985 and somewhat higher on average from 1985 to 1995. The average annual increase, measured in yen, was about 41/2 percent over the whole period-a smaller average increase than in the United States. However, because the Japanese yen exchange rate appreciated about 6 percent on average from 1975 to 1995, the trend in hourly compensation costs, measured in U.S. dollars, was about 11 percent per year-about double the average U.S. trend. Although relative compensation costs declined twice during this period because of substantial changes in the yen exchange rate, the long-term trend was up from 47 percent of U.S. costs in 1975 to 138 percent in 1995.
Other Asia. In the Asian NIEs, the trade-weighted average increase in hourly compensation costs from 1975 to 1995 was about 131/2 percent per year measured both in national currencies and in U.S. dollars-more than double the average increase in the United States. Their average cost level in U.S. dollars rose from 8 percent of U.S. costs in 1975 to 12 percent in 1980, stabilized at 12-13 percent through 1986 as currency exchange rates declined and offset underlying cost increases, then rose again to 25 percent of U.S. costs in 1990 and to 37 percent in 1995. (See table 1.)
As of July 1996, many of the 26 foreign currencies had declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar. The Mexican peso and Japanese yen fell by over 15 percent from their 1995 average values. Almost all European currency exchange rates were lower than their 1995 averages relative to the U.S. dollar. The trade-weighted average exchange rate for Europe was down 2 percent. The only European currency exchange rates to increase relative to the U.S. dollar were the Italian lira and the Swedish kroner, by over 6 percent. The Irish pound was unchanged. Other individual European exchange rates declined between 11/2 percent in the United Kingdom and 5 percent in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. The value of the Canadian dollar was up slightly relative to the U.S. dollar. Among the Pacific Rim economies, the Australian dollar was up over 6 percent and the New Zealand dollar up 5 percent. In contrast, the Taiwan dollar was down 4 percent and the Korean won down over 5 percent, while the Hong Kong and Singapore dollar exchange rates were unchanged. The trade-weighted average exchange rate for the 25 foreign economies fell almost 6 percent with Mexico included and 41/2 percent with Mexico excluded.
At July 1996 exchange rates, assuming underlying compensation trends similar to U.S. trends between 1995 and July 1996, Japanese compensation costs in U.S. dollars would decline to 118 percent of U.S. costs, below the 1994 level. Mexican compensation costs in U.S. dollars-still assuming similar underlying compensation cost trends-would decline to 7 percent of the U.S. cost level. Canadian costs would be essentially unchanged. Relative costs would decline in 13 European countries; however, these costs would remain higher than the 1994 levels in each country. The European trade-weighted hourly compensation costs in U.S. dollars would fall to 125 percent of U.S. costs. Australia's and New Zealand's compensation costs would rise to 89 percent and 62 percent of the U.S. cost level, respectively, while the relative costs in Korea and Taiwan would decline.
In addition to the total hourly compensation cost measures for manufacturing covered in this report, tables are available showing comparative levels of hourly direct pay and pay for time worked and the structure of compensation.
The Bureau also computes comparative measures for 39 component manufacturing industries. Data are available through 1994. The Bureau does not publish data for the component industries because, in general, the data limitations are greater than they are for the total manufacturing measures. Nevertheless, these data are made available upon request, and there are no restrictions on their use.
For further information, contact the Office of Productivity and Technology, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Room 2150, Washington, DC 20212-0001, or call (202) 606-5654.
Information in this report is available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 606-7828; TDD phone: (202) 606-5897; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577. This material is in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without permission.
BOX FOR COVER PAGE:
The hourly compensation measures in this report are based on statistics available to BLS
as of June 6, 1996.
Labor cost measures. The compensation measures are computed in national currency units and are converted into U.S. dollars at prevailing commercial market currency exchange rates. They are appropriate measures for comparing levels of employer labor costs, but they do not indicate relative living standards of workers or the purchasing power of their incomes. Prices of goods and services vary greatly among countries, and commercial market exchange rates do not reliably indicate relative differences in prices.
Data limitations. Because hourly compensation is partly estimated, these statistics should not be considered as precise measures of comparative compensation costs. The comparative level figures in this report are averages for all manufacturing industries and are not necessarily representative of all component industries.
For more detail, see the technical notes.
Country or area 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
United States 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Canada ...........94 88 84 106 110 106 100 94 93
Mexico............23 22 12 11 12 13 15 15 9
Australia ........88 86 63 88 87 81 76 83 84
Hong Kong ........12 15 13 21 23 24 26 27 28
Israel ...........35 38 31 57 56 56 53 55 62
Japan ............47 56 49 86 94 101 115 125 138
Korea .............5 10 9 25 30 32 34 38 43
New Zealand ......50 54 34 56 54 49 49 53 59
Singapore ........13 15 19 25 28 31 32 37 42
Sri Lanka .........4 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 -
Taiwan ............6 10 12 26 28 32 31 33 34
Austria ..........71 90 58 119 116 126 122 128 148
Belgium .........101 133 69 129 127 138 131 138 156
Denmark ..........99 110 62 120 117 124 116 121 141
Finland1..........72 83 63 141 136 124 100 114 144
France ...........71 91 58 102 98 105 98 101 112
Germany2 ........100 125 74 147 146 158 154 160 185
Greece ...........27 38 28 45 44 46 43 45 52
Ireland ..........48 60 46 79 78 83 73 75 80
Italy ............73 83 59 119 119 122 97 95 96
Luxembourg ......100 121 59 110 108 117 112 119 -
Netherlands .....103 122 67 123 117 126 121 124 141
Norway ..........106 117 80 144 139 143 122 124 142
Portugal .........25 21 12 25 27 32 27 27 31
Spain ............40 60 36 76 78 83 70 68 74
Sweden ..........113 127 74 140 142 153 107 112 124
Switzerland ......96 112 74 140 139 144 137 148 170
United Kingdom ...53 77 48 85 88 90 76 76 80
Trade-weighted
Measures3 25 foreign economies4........60 67 52 83 85 88 86 89 95 less Mexico, Israel.. .........64 72 56 91 94 97 94 97 104 OECD5 ............70 77 59 93 96 99 97 99 106 OECD5 excluding Mexico..76 84 65 104 107 110 107 110 118 Europe ...........80 101 61 116 115 122 111 114 128 European Union(12)78 99 60 114 113 120 110 112 125 European Union(15)79 100 60 115 114 121 110 113 126 Asian NIE's .......8 12 13 25 28 30 31 34 37 1 Break in series at 1994. Finland is excluded from the economic groups below. 2 Former West Germany. 3 For description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see technical notes. 4 29 countries or areas less the United States, Finland, and the 2 countries, Sri Lanka and Luxembourg, for which 1995 data are not available. 5 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Dash means data not available.
Country or area 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
United States .......... $6.36 $9.87 $13.01 $14.91 $15.58 $16.09 $16.51 $16.86 $17.20
Canada.................. 5.96 8.67 10.94 15.83 17.16 17.03 16.43 15.87 16.03
Mexico ................. 1.47 2.21 1.59 1.58 1.84 2.17 2.40 2.47 1.51
Australia .............. 5.62 8.47 8.20 13.07 13.53 13.02 12.49 14.02 14.40
Hong Kong .............. .76 1.51 1.73 3.20 3.58 3.92 4.29 4.61 4.82
Israel ................. 2.25 3.79 4.06 8.55 8.79 9.09 8.82 9.19 10.59
Japan................... 3.00 5.52 6.34 12.80 14.66 16.28 19.01 21.07 23.66
Korea .................. .32 .96 1.23 3.71 4.61 5.22 5.64 6.40 7.40
New Zealand ............ 3.21 5.33 7.79 8.33 8.36 7.91 8.01 8.93 10.11
Singapore............... .84 1.49 2.47 3.78 4.35 4.95 5.25 6.29 7.28
Sri Lanka .............. .28 .22 .28 .35 .40 .40 .42 .45 -
Taiwan ................. .40 1.00 1.50 3.93 4.36 5.09 5.19 5.49 5.82
Austria ................ 4.51 8.88 7.58 17.75 18.09 20.29 20.16 21.51 25.38
Belgium................. 6.41 13.11 8.97 19.22 19.83 22.23 21.62 23.25 26.88
Denmark ................ 6.28 10.83 8.13 17.96 18.26 20.02 19.11 20.40 24.19
Finland1 ............... 4.61 8.24 8.16 21.03 21.25 19.92 16.56 19.19 24.78
France.................. 4.52 8.94 7.52 15.23 15.26 16.89 16.23 17.04 19.34
Germany2 ............... 6.35 12.33 9.60 21.96 22.69 25.40 25.36 26.90 31.88
Greece ................. 1.69 3.73 3.66 6.71 6.82 7.46 7.02 7.51 8.95
Ireland ................ 3.03 5.95 5.92 11.76 12.08 13.37 12.12 12.63 13.83
Italy .................. 4.67 8.15 7.63 17.74 18.60 19.60 16.00 16.10 16.48
Luxembourg ............. 6.35 11.98 7.72 16.37 16.87 18.85 18.49 20.06 -
Netherlands............. 6.58 12.06 8.75 18.29 18.30 20.34 20.05 20.92 24.18
Norway ................. 6.77 11.59 10.37 21.47 21.63 23.03 20.21 20.97 24.38
Portugal ............... 1.58 2.06 1.53 3.77 4.24 5.17 4.50 4.60 5.35
Spain .................. 2.53 5.89 4.66 11.33 12.20 13.37 11.50 11.39 12.70
Sweden.................. 7.18 12.51 9.66 20.93 22.15 24.59 17.70 18.86 21.36
Switzerland............. 6.09 11.09 9.66 20.86 21.69 23.23 22.63 24.90 29.28
United Kingdom.......... 3.37 7.56 6.27 12.71 13.77 14.44 12.47 12.86 13.77
Trade-weighted measures3
25 foreign economies4... 3.83 6.60 6.75 12.33 13.32 14.21 14.28 14.94 16.30
less Mexico, Israel... 4.10 7.09 7.33 13.50 14.58 15.54 15.59 16.32 17.92
OECD5 .................. 4.45 7.62 7.71 13.93 15.00 15.96 15.99 16.68 18.16
OECD5 excluding Mexico.. 4.82 8.30 8.48 15.50 16.67 17.71 17.72 18.48 20.28
Europe ................. 5.10 9.93 7.98 17.31 17.95 19.66 18.35 19.27 21.98
European Union (12) .... 4.96 9.76 7.80 16.94 17.55 19.24 18.11 18.96 21.57
European Union (15) .... 5.03 9.85 7.87 17.09 17.72 19.45 18.12 18.99 21.61
Asian NIE's............. .52 1.17 1.65 3.72 4.30 4.91 5.18 5.76 6.38
1 Break in series at 1994. Finland is excluded from the economic groups below.
2 Former West Germany.
3 For description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see technical notes.
4 29 countries or areas less the United States, Finland, and the
2 countries, Sri Lanka and Luxembourg, for which 1995 data are not available.
5 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Dash means data not available.
Country or area 1975-95 1975-80 1980-85 1985-90 1990-95 1992 1993 1994 1995
United States .......... 5.1 9.2 5.7 2.8 2.9 3.3 2.6 2.1 2.0
Canada ................. 5.1 7.8 4.8 7.7 .3 -.8 -3.5 -3.4 1.0
Mexico ................. .1 8.5 -6.4 -.1 -.9 17.9 10.6 2.9 -38.9
Australia .............. 4.8 8.5 -.6 9.8 2.0 -3.8 -4.1 12.2 2.7
Hong Kong .............. 9.7 14.7 2.8 13.1 8.5 9.5 9.4 7.5 4.6
Israel ................. 8.1 11.0 1.4 16.1 4.4 3.4 -3.0 4.2 15.2
Japan .................. 10.9 13.0 2.8 15.1 13.1 11.1 16.8 10.8 12.3
Korea .................. 17.0 24.6 5.1 24.7 14.8 13.2 8.0 13.5 15.6
New Zealand ............ 5.9 10.7 -3.5 13.3 3.9 -5.4 1.3 11.5 13.2
Singapore .............. 11.4 12.1 10.6 8.9 14.0 13.8 6.1 19.8 15.7
Sri Lanka .............. 1 2.5 -4.7 4.9 4.6 - .0 5.0 7.1 -
Taiwan ................. 14.3 20.1 8.4 21.2 8.2 16.7 2.0 5.8 6.0
Austria ................ 9.0 14.5 -3.1 18.6 7.4 12.2 -.6 6.7 18.0
Belgium ................ 7.4 15.4 -7.3 16.5 6.9 12.1 -2.7 7.5 15.6
Denmark ................ 7.0 11.5 -5.6 17.2 6.1 9.6 -4.5 6.8 18.6
Finland2 ............... 8.8 12.3 -.2 20.8 - -6.3 -16.9 - 29.1
France ................. 7.5 14.6 -3.4 15.2 4.9 10.7 -3.9 5.0 13.5
Germany3 ............... 8.4 14.2 -4.9 18.0 7.7 11.9 -.2 6.1 18.5
Greece ................. 8.7 17.2 -.4 12.9 5.9 9.4 -5.9 7.0 19.2
Ireland ................ 7.9 14.4 -.1 14.7 3.3 10.7 -9.3 4.2 9.5
Italy .................. 6.5 11.8 -1.3 18.4 -1.5 5.4 -18.4 .6 2.4
Luxembourg ............. 1 6.2 13.5 -8.4 16.2 - 11.7 -1.9 8.5 -
Netherlands ............ 6.7 12.9 -6.2 15.9 5.7 11.1 -1.4 4.3 15.6
Norway ................. 6.6 11.4 -2.2 15.7 2.6 6.5 -12.2 3.8 16.3
Portugal ............... 6.3 5.4 -5.8 19.8 7.3 21.9 -13.0 2.2 16.3
Spain .................. 8.4 18.4 -4.6 19.4 2.3 9.6 -14.0 -1.0 11.5
Sweden ................. 5.6 11.7 -5.0 16.7 .4 11.0 -28.0 6.6 13.3
Switzerland ............ 8.2 12.7 -2.7 16.6 7.0 7.1 -2.6 10.0 17.6
United Kingdom ......... 7.3 17.5 -3.7 15.2 1.6 4.9 -13.6 3.1 7.1
Trade-weighted measures4
25 foreign economies5 .. 7.8 12.5 1.0 12.7 5.6 8.4 2.1 4.9 4.5
less Mexico, Israel.... 8.6 13.0 1.7 14.1 6.3 7.5 1.2 5.1 9.0
OECD6 .................. 6.7 11.4 -.1 11.7 4.6 7.5 1.5 3.8 3.3
OECD6 excluding Mexico.. 7.5 11.8 .7 13.2 5.3 6.2 .3 3.9 8.7
Europe ................. 7.5 14.5 -4.1 16.7 4.4 9.3 -7.5 4.6 12.9
European Union (12)..... 7.5 14.7 -4.1 16.6 4.4 9.4 -6.9 4.3 12.5
European Union (15)..... 7.5 14.6 -4.2 16.7 4.3 9.5 -7.6 4.4 12.6
Asian NIE's ............ 13.7 18.9 7.0 18.4 11.2 14.0 5.7 11.0 10.4
1 1975-94.
2 Break in series at 1994. Finland is excluded from the economic groups below.
3 Former West Germany.
4 Trade-weighted percent changes computed as the trade-weighted average of the rates of change for the
individual countries or areas. For description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see
technical notes.
5 29 countries or areas less the United States, Finland, and the
2 countries, Sri Lanka and Luxembourg, for which 1995 data are not available.
6 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Rates of change based on compound rate method.
Dash means data not available.
Country or area 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 United States .......... 6.36 9.87 13.01 14.91 15.58 16.09 16.51 16.86 17.20 Canada ................. 6.07 10.13 14.94 18.48 19.66 20.59 21.20 21.68 22.00 Mexico ................. 18 51 409 4440 5541 6716 7.48 8.34 9.66 Australia .............. 4.30 7.43 11.70 16.74 17.37 17.71 18.37 19.16 19.43 Hong Kong .............. 3.73 7.50 13.46 24.91 27.82 30.31 33.19 35.65 37.30 Israel ................. 1.44 19.42 4.79 17.24 20.04 22.36 24.97 27.66 31.89 Japan .................. 889 1245 1512 1856 1974 2065 2112 2154 2223 Korea .................. 157 583 1074 2623 3383 4075 4531 5141 5710 New Zealand ............ 2.65 5.48 8.98 13.98 14.46 14.70 14.79 15.06 15.41 Singapore .............. 2.00 3.20 5.43 6.85 7.51 8.07 8.49 9.61 10.32 Sri Lanka .............. 1.97 3.58 7.58 14.05 16.58 17.51 20.20 22.32 - Taiwan ................. 15.17 36.13 59.60 105.68 116.66 128.02 137.00 145.44 154.26 Austria ................ 78.46 114.78 156.75 201.07 211.44 222.93 234.70 245.38 255.87 Belgium ................ 235.10 382.88 532.39 642.30 678.30 714.70 747.53 777.32 792.10 Denmark ................ 36.00 60.98 86.18 111.18 116.97 120.84 123.96 129.64 135.47 Finland1 ............... 16.88 30.64 50.56 80.56 86.11 89.40 94.82 100.42 108.43 France ................. 19.34 37.73 67.49 82.97 86.17 89.41 91.98 94.48 96.42 Germany2 ............... 15.59 22.39 28.23 35.50 37.68 39.67 41.96 43.63 45.65 Greece ................. 55 159 506 1064 1243 1422 1610 1821 2073 Ireland ................ 1.36 2.89 5.55 7.10 7.48 7.85 8.27 8.43 8.62 Italy .................. 3048 6966 14563 21258 23081 24146 25175 25943 26852 Luxembourg ............. 233 350 458 547 576 606 640 671 - Netherlands ............ 16.59 23.93 29.04 33.32 34.25 35.78 37.25 38.06 38.79 Norway ................. 35.29 57.20 89.11 134.26 140.43 143.13 143.47 147.92 154.46 Portugal ............... 40.26 103.28 263.37 538.11 614.62 697.80 724.15 763.09 802.11 Spain .................. 145 422 792 1156 1269 1369 1466 1525 1582 Sweden ................. 29.73 52.91 83.12 123.98 134.04 143.26 137.99 145.55 152.50 Switzerland ............ 15.72 18.57 23.71 29.00 31.14 32.66 33.45 34.04 34.58 United Kingdom ......... 1.52 3.25 4.84 7.13 7.79 8.17 8.31 8.40 8.72 1 Break in series at 1994. 2 Former West Germany. Dash means data not available. For currency units, see note to table 6.
Country or area 1975-95 1975-80 1980-85 1985-90 1990-95 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
United States .......... 5.1 9.2 5.7 2.8 2.9 4.5 3.3 2.6 2.1 2.0
Canada ................. 6.7 10.8 8.1 4.3 3.5 6.4 4.7 3.0 2.3 1.5
Mexico ................. 36.9 23.2 51.6 61.1 16.8 24.8 21.2 11.4 11.5 15.8
Australia .............. 7.8 11.6 9.5 7.4 3.0 3.8 2.0 3.7 4.3 1.4
Hong Kong .............. 12.2 15.0 12.4 13.1 8.4 11.7 9.0 9.5 7.4 4.6
Israel ................. 16.8 68.3 200.9 29.2 13.1 16.2 11.6 11.7 10.8 15.3
Japan .................. 4.7 7.0 4.0 4.2 3.7 6.4 4.6 2.3 2.0 3.2
Korea .................. 19.7 30.0 13.0 19.6 16.8 29.0 20.5 11.2 13.5 11.1
New Zealand ............ 9.2 15.6 10.4 9.3 2.0 3.4 1.7 0.6 1.8 2.3
Singapore .............. 8.6 9.9 11.2 4.8 8.5 9.6 7.5 5.2 13.2 7.4
Sri Lanka .............. 1 13.6 12.7 16.2 13.1 - 18.0 5.6 15.4 10.5 -
Taiwan ................. 12.3 19.0 10.5 12.1 7.9 10.4 9.7 7.0 6.2 6.1
Austria ................ 6.1 7.9 6.4 5.1 4.9 5.2 5.4 5.3 4.6 4.3
Belgium ................ 6.3 10.2 6.8 3.8 4.3 5.6 5.4 4.6 4.0 1.9
Denmark ................ 6.9 11.1 7.2 5.2 4.0 5.2 3.3 2.6 4.6 4.5
Finland2 ............... 9.7 12.7 10.5 9.8 - 6.9 3.8 6.1 - 8.0
France ................. 8.4 14.3 12.3 4.2 3.1 3.9 3.8 2.9 2.7 2.1
Germany3 ............... 5.5 7.5 4.7 4.7 5.2 6.1 5.3 5.8 4.0 4.6
Greece ................. 19.9 23.9 26.0 16.1 14.3 16.8 14.4 13.2 13.1 13.8
Ireland ................ 9.7 16.3 13.9 5.0 4.0 5.4 4.9 5.4 1.9 2.3
Italy .................. 11.5 18.0 15.9 7.9 4.8 8.6 4.6 4.3 3.1 3.5
Luxembourg ............. 1 5.7 8.5 5.5 3.6 - 5.3 5.2 5.6 4.8 -
Netherlands ............ 4.3 7.6 3.9 2.8 3.1 2.8 4.5 4.1 2.2 1.9
Norway ................. 7.7 10.1 9.3 8.5 2.8 4.6 1.9 0.2 3.1 4.4
Portugal ............... 16.1 20.7 20.6 15.4 8.3 14.2 13.5 3.8 5.4 5.1
Spain .................. 12.7 23.8 13.4 7.9 6.5 9.8 7.9 7.1 4.0 3.7
Sweden ................. 8.5 12.2 9.5 8.3 4.2 8.1 6.9 -3.7 5.5 4.8
Switzerland ............ 4.0 3.4 5.0 4.1 3.6 7.4 4.9 2.4 1.8 1.6
United Kingdom ......... 9.1 16.4 8.3 8.1 4.1 9.3 4.9 1.7 1.1 3.8
Trade-weighted measures4
25 foreign economies5 .. 10.6 13.6 14.1 11.7 6.2 9.6 7.5 4.7 4.5 4.8
less Mexico, Israel. 7.8 12.0 8.0 6.3 5.0 8.0 6.0 3.9 3.7 3.5
OECD6 .................. 10.0 11.9 12.3 11.3 5.3 8.5 6.6 4.0 3.5 4.2
OECD6 excluding Mexico.. 6.6 10.5 7.3 5.0 3.9 6.4 4.7 3.1 2.5 2.7
Europe ................. 7.7 12.4 8.7 5.8 4.3 6.6 5.0 3.7 3.0 3.4
European Union (12)..... 7.9 13.0 8.9 5.7 4.4 6.6 5.0 4.1 2.9 3.4
European Union (15)..... 7.9 12.9 8.9 5.8 4.4 6.6 5.1 3.8 3.0 3.5
Asian NIE's ............ 13.6 19.6 11.6 12.9 10.6 15.6 12.1 8.2 9.8 7.5
1 1975-94.
2 Break in series at 1994. Finland is excluded from the economic groups below.
3 Former West Germany.
4 Trade-weighted percent changes computed as the trade-weighted average of the rates of change for the
individual countries or areas. For description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see
technical notes.
5 29 countries or areas less the United States, Finland, and the
2 countries, Sri Lanka and Luxembourg, for which 1995 data are not available.
6 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Rates of change based on compound rate method.
Dash means data not available.
Country or area 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 United States .......... 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 Canada ................. 1.017 1.169 1.366 1.167 1.146 1.209 1.290 1.366 1.373 Mexico ................. 12.50 22.97 256.9 2813 3018 3095 3.116 3.375 6.419 Australia .............. .7647 .8772 1.428 1.281 1.284 1.360 1.471 1.367 1.350 Hong Kong .............. 4.939 4.976 7.791 7.790 7.771 7.740 7.736 7.729 7.736 Israel ................. .6390 5.124 1.179 2.016 2.279 2.459 2.830 3.011 3.011 Japan .................. 296.7 225.7 238.5 145.0 134.6 126.8 111.1 102.2 93.96 Korea .................. 484.0 607.4 870.0 707.8 733.4 780.6 802.7 803.5 771.3 New Zealand ............ .8254 1.027 2.010 1.677 1.729 1.859 1.847 1.685 1.524 Singapore .............. 2.371 2.141 2.200 1.813 1.728 1.629 1.616 1.527 1.417 Sri Lanka .............. 7.050 16.53 27.16 40.06 41.37 43.83 48.32 49.42 51.25 Taiwan ................. 38.00 36.02 39.85 26.92 26.76 25.16 26.42 26.47 26.50 Austria ................ 17.40 12.93 20.68 11.33 11.69 10.99 11.64 11.41 10.08 Belgium ................ 36.69 29.20 59.34 33.42 34.20 32.15 34.58 33.43 29.47 Denmark ................ 5.735 5.629 10.60 6.190 6.404 6.037 6.486 6.356 5.600 Finland ................ 3.665 3.719 6.197 3.830 4.052 4.487 5.725 5.234 4.376 France ................. 4.282 4.220 8.980 5.447 5.647 5.294 5.667 5.546 4.986 Germany1 ............... 2.455 1.815 2.942 1.617 1.661 1.562 1.655 1.622 1.432 Greece ................. 32.29 42.62 138.1 158.5 182.3 190.6 229.3 242.6 231.6 Ireland ................ .4500 .4860 .9379 .6033 .6196 .5868 .6827 .6680 .6236 Italy .................. 652.4 855.1 1909 1198 1241 1232 1573 1611 1629 Luxembourg ............. 36.78 29.24 59.38 33.42 34.15 32.15 34.60 33.46 29.48 Netherlands ............ 2.523 1.985 3.318 1.822 1.872 1.759 1.858 1.819 1.604 Norway ................. 5.214 4.936 8.593 6.254 6.491 6.214 7.098 7.055 6.336 Portugal ............... 25.45 50.05 172.1 142.7 144.8 135.1 161.1 165.9 149.9 Spain .................. 57.39 71.64 170.0 102.0 104.0 102.4 127.5 133.9 124.6 Sweden ................. 4.142 4.229 8.603 5.923 6.052 5.826 7.796 7.716 7.141 Switzerland ............ 2.581 1.675 2.455 1.390 1.436 1.406 1.478 1.367 1.181 United Kingdom ......... .4501 .4300 .7708 .5605 .5658 .5662 .6660 .6528 .6335 1 Former West Germany. Note: National currency units are: United States, dollar; Canada, dollar; Mexico, old peso (1975-92), new peso (1993-95); Australia, dollar; Hong Kong, dollar; Israel, shekel (1975-84), new shekel (1985-95); Japan, yen; Korea, won; New Zealand, dollar; Singapore, dollar; Sri Lanka, rupee; Taiwan, dollar; Austria, schilling; Belgium, franc; Denmark, krone; Finland, markka; France, franc; Germany, mark; Greece, drachma; Ireland, pound; Italy, lira; Luxembourg, franc; Netherlands, guilder; Norway, krone; Portugal, escudo; Spain, peseta; Sweden, krona; Switzerland, franc; United Kingdom, pound.
Country or area 1975-95 1975-80 1980-85 1985-90 1990-95 1992 1993 1994 1995
United States ........... - - - - - - - - -
Canada .................. -1.5 -2.7 -3.1 3.2 -3.2 -5.2 -6.3 -5.6 -.5
Mexico .................. -26.8 -11.5 -38.3 -38.0 -15.2 -2.5 -.7 -7.7 -47.4
Australia ............... -2.8 -2.7 -9.3 2.2 -1.0 -5.6 -7.5 7.6 1.3
Hong Kong ............... -2.2 -.1 -8.6 .0 .1 .4 .1 .1 -.1
Israel .................. -7.5 -34.1 -66.3 -10.2 -7.7 -7.3 -13.1 -6.0 .0
Japan ................... 5.9 5.6 -1.1 10.5 9.1 6.2 14.1 8.7 8.8
Korea ................... -2.3 -4.4 -6.9 4.2 -1.7 -6.0 -2.8 -.1 4.2
New Zealand ............. -3.0 -4.3 -12.6 3.7 1.9 -7.0 .6 9.6 10.6
Singapore ............... 2.6 2.1 -.5 3.9 5.1 6.1 .8 5.8 7.8
Sri Lanka ............... -9.4 -15.7 -9.5 -7.5 -4.8 -5.6 -9.3 -2.2 -3.6
Taiwan .................. 1.8 1.1 -2.0 8.2 .3 6.4 -4.8 -.2 -.1
Austria ................. 2.8 6.1 -9.0 12.8 2.4 6.4 -5.6 2.0 13.2
Belgium ................. 1.1 4.7 -13.2 12.2 2.5 6.4 -7.0 3.4 13.4
Denmark ................. .1 .4 -11.9 11.4 2.0 6.1 -6.9 2.0 13.5
Finland ................. -.9 -.3 -9.7 10.1 -2.6 -9.7 -21.6 9.4 19.6
France .................. -.8 .3 -14.0 10.5 1.8 6.7 -6.6 2.2 11.2
Germany1 ................ 2.7 6.2 -9.2 12.7 2.5 6.3 -5.6 2.0 13.3
Greece .................. -9.4 -5.4 -21.0 -2.7 -7.3 -4.4 -16.9 -5.5 4.7
Ireland ................. -1.6 -1.5 -12.3 9.2 -.7 5.6 -14.0 2.2 7.1
Italy ................... -4.5 -5.3 -14.8 9.8 -6.0 .7 -21.7 -2.4 -1.1
Luxembourg .............. 1.1 4.7 -13.2 12.2 2.5 6.2 -7.1 3.4 13.5
Netherlands ............. 2.3 4.9 -9.8 12.7 2.6 6.4 -5.3 2.1 13.4
Norway .................. -1.0 1.1 -10.5 6.6 -.3 4.5 -12.5 .6 11.3
Portugal ................ -8.5 -12.7 -21.9 3.8 -1.0 7.2 -16.1 -2.9 10.7
Spain ................... -3.8 -4.3 -15.9 10.8 -3.9 1.6 -19.7 -4.8 7.5
Sweden .................. -2.7 -.4 -13.2 7.8 -3.7 3.9 -25.3 1.0 8.1
Switzerland ............. 4.0 9.0 -7.4 12.0 3.3 2.1 -4.9 8.1 15.7
United Kingdom .......... -1.7 .9 -11.0 6.6 -2.4 -.1 -15.0 2.0 3.0
Trade-weighted measures2
25 foreign economies3 ... -1.9 -.5 -9.4 2.9 -.4 1.0 -2.5 .4 .2
less Mexico, Israel.. .8 1.0 -5.7 7.3 1.2 1.5 -2.6 1.3 5.2
OECD4 ................... -2.2 -.1 -9.7 2.7 -.5 .9 -2.4 .3 -.2
OECD4 excluding Mexico... .9 1.3 -6.1 7.8 1.4 1.4 -2.6 1.4 5.8
Europe .................. -.2 2.0 -11.7 10.3 .0 4.1 -10.8 1.6 9.1
European Union (12)...... -.3 1.7 -11.9 10.3 .0 4.2 -10.6 1.3 8.7
European Union (15)...... -.3 1.7 -11.9 10.3 -.1 4.2 -11.0 1.3 8.8
Asian NIE's ............. .2 -.5 -4.2 4.9 .7 1.9 -2.3 1.1 2.6
1 Former West Germany.
2 Trade-weighted percent changes computed as the trade-weighted average of the rates of change for the
individual countries or areas. For a description of trade-weighted measures and economic groups, see
technical notes.
3 29 countries or areas less the United States, Finland, and the
2 countries, Sri Lanka and Luxembourg, for which 1995 data are not available.
4 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Rates of change based on compound rate method.
Dash means data not available.
These tables are online: http://www.stats.bls.gov
Globalization and Workers' Rights |
|
HOME |
International
Labour Office |