System of unit labour cost, OECD - Updated: September 2013 Donnerstag, 19. September 2013 - 12:16

OECD Unit labour costs continue to fall in the second quarter of 2013

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19/09/2013 - Unit labour costs (ULCs) in OECD countries fell 0.2% in the second quarter of 2013 as labour productivity growth (0.4%) outpaced a rise in labour compensation (0.2%).

The pattern of quarter-on-quarter growth in ULCs remains mixed. For the first time since the fourth quarter of 2011, ULCs declined in the Euro area (minus 0.3%), driven by productivity growth (0.4%) and weak labour compensation growth (0.1%, significantly lower than the 0.9% in the previous quarter). In the United States, ULCs rose marginally (0.1%, compared to minus 1.0% in the previous quarter).

Within the Euro area, ULCs continued to adjust in several countries. ULCs fell in Italy (minus 0.7%) for the first time in six quarters. In France, ULCs stopped growing for the first time in eight quarters. ULCs continued to fall (minus 0.9%) in Portugal and were unchanged in Spain. In Germany, ULCs declined marginally (minus 0.1%).

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, ULC growth in the OECD area slowed in the second quarter of 2013 (year-on-year growth of 0.9% compared with 1.3% in the first quarter of 2013). Unlike in previous quarters, the continued increase in labour compensation per unit of output was partly offset by positive labour productivity growth.

‌ Source: OECD Early Estimates of Quarterly ULC Indicators – Total economy