Unit Labour Costs - Annual Indicators
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OECD statistics contact: stat.contact@oecd.org
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• Unit labour cost: Index, level and growth
• Total labour costs: Level in national currency
• Real output: Level in national currency
• Nominal output: Level in national currency (volume)
• Total employment to employees: Ratio
• Exchange rate adjusted unit labour cost: Index and level (USD)
• Labour income share ratio: Index and level
• Labour productivity per unit labour input: Index and growth
• Labour productivity per employed person: Index, growth, and level
• Labour productivity per hour worked: Index, growth, and level
• Labour compensation per unit labour input: Index and growth
• Labour compensation per employee: Index, growth, and level
• Labour compensation per employee hour worked: Index, growth, and level
• Labour compensation per unit labour input indices ($US PPP adjusted): Index, and growth
• Labour compensation per employee ($US PPP adjusted): Index, growth, and level
• Labour compensation per hour ($US PPP adjusted): Index, growth, and level
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01-Apr-2014 10:19:45 AM
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Annual data is available for:
• all OECD member countries (except Chile and Israel);
• zone aggregations: European union, Euro area, G7, OECD - Europe, OECD - Total, and OECD - Total excluding high inflation countries;
• non-member countries: Brazil, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, and South Africa.
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Unit labour costs measure the average cost of labour per unit of output. They are calculated as the ratio of total labour costs to real output, or equivalently, as the ratio of average labour costs per hour to labour productivity (output per hour). As such, a unit labour cost represents a link between productivity and the cost of labour in producing output. The data presented in this dataset are an output of the OECD System of Unit Labour Cost and Related Indicators which produces annual and quarterly unit labour cost measures according to a specific methodology to ensure data are comparable across OECD countries. Annual time series are presented in this dataset and detailed metadata are provided for each variable and country in regards to the methodology and data sources used. For more information on the OECD System of Unit Labour Cost and Related Indicators, see http://stats.oecd.org/mei/.
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Every effort has been made to ensure that data are comparable across countries. Therefore cross country comparisons of the competitiveness indicators in this dataset (unit labour cost, labour productivity, and labour compensation per unit labour input ) in ratio form (or levels) can be used for static analysis (i.e. comparison of levels across countries or economic activities at a point in time) together with indexes which show comparable development in the competitiveness indicators over time. The adjustment for the self-employed assumes that labour compensation per hour or per person is equivalent for the self employed and employees of businesses and this assumption may be more or less valid across different countries and economic activities thus affecting the comparability of unit labour cost level data. The annual competitiveness indicators in this dataset provide some basic statistical information for many international comparisons and country performance assessments. For example, productivity data are used to investigate the impact of product and labour market regulations on economic performance and strong unit labour cost growth can indicate pressure on producer prices.
Unit Labour Costs - Annual IndicatorsUnit of measure used
• Unit labour cost: Index, level and growth
• Total labour costs: Level in national currency
• Real output: Level in national currency
• Nominal output: Level in national currency (volume)
• Total employment to employees: Ratio
• Exchange rate adjusted unit labour cost: Index and level (USD)
• Labour income share ratio: Index and level
• Labour productivity per unit labour input: Index and growth
• Labour productivity per employed person: Index, growth, and level
• Labour productivity per hour worked: Index, growth, and level
• Labour compensation per unit labour input: Index and growth
• Labour compensation per employee: Index, growth, and level
• Labour compensation per employee hour worked: Index, growth, and level
• Labour compensation per unit labour input indices ($US PPP adjusted): Index, and growth
• Labour compensation per employee ($US PPP adjusted): Index, growth, and level
• Labour compensation per hour ($US PPP adjusted): Index, growth, and level
Date last updated
01-Apr-2014 10:19:45 AM
Contact person
OECD statistics contact: stat.contact@oecd.org
Statistical population
Annual data is available for:
• all OECD member countries (except Chile and Israel);
• zone aggregations: European union, Euro area, G7, OECD - Europe, OECD - Total, and OECD - Total excluding high inflation countries;
• non-member countries: Brazil, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, and South Africa.
Key statistical concept
Unit labour costs measure the average cost of labour per unit of output. They are calculated as the ratio of total labour costs to real output, or equivalently, as the ratio of average labour costs per hour to labour productivity (output per hour). As such, a unit labour cost represents a link between productivity and the cost of labour in producing output. The data presented in this dataset are an output of the OECD System of Unit Labour Cost and Related Indicators which produces annual and quarterly unit labour cost measures according to a specific methodology to ensure data are comparable across OECD countries. Annual time series are presented in this dataset and detailed metadata are provided for each variable and country in regards to the methodology and data sources used. For more information on the OECD System of Unit Labour Cost and Related Indicators, see http://stats.oecd.org/mei/.
Recommended uses and limitations
Every effort has been made to ensure that data are comparable across countries. Therefore cross country comparisons of the competitiveness indicators in this dataset (unit labour cost, labour productivity, and labour compensation per unit labour input ) in ratio form (or levels) can be used for static analysis (i.e. comparison of levels across countries or economic activities at a point in time) together with indexes which show comparable development in the competitiveness indicators over time. The adjustment for the self-employed assumes that labour compensation per hour or per person is equivalent for the self employed and employees of businesses and this assumption may be more or less valid across different countries and economic activities thus affecting the comparability of unit labour cost level data. The annual competitiveness indicators in this dataset provide some basic statistical information for many international comparisons and country performance assessments. For example, productivity data are used to investigate the impact of product and labour market regulations on economic performance and strong unit labour cost growth can indicate pressure on producer prices.