OECD System of quarterly unit labour cost indexes - Updated: February 2009

OECD unit labour costs accelerated in third quarter of 2008

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13/02/2009 - Unit labour costs in industry rose 1.0% quarter-on-quarter in the OECD area in the third quarter of 2008 (0.8% in second quarter) and resulting in a year-on-year growth rate of 2.6%. Italy maintained the highest growth rate in industry among the major seven economies with 2.1% growth in the third quarter, accumulating to 7.8% on an annual basis. German industry unit labour costs rose 0.5% in the third quarter of 2008 from 0.2% in the second quarter and giving a relatively modest 0.7% annual increase. Growth in Japanese unit labour costs for industry slowed to 0.5% in the third quarter of 2008 from the 0.7% growth recorded in the previous quarter. etc.

• Quarterly Unit Labour Cost indexes for OECD countries

The next publication date of the OECD System of quarterly unit labour cost indexes will be on 15 May 2009.

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