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Unit labour costs for OECD area continue to rise in the second quarter of 2011

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21/09/2011 - Early estimates of unit labour costs (ULCs) in the OECD area show a 0.6% rise in the second quarter of 2011, the third consecutive quarterly increase. ULCs rose by 0.8% in the United States and the euro area in the second quarter of 2011. ULCs also increased marginally in Japan (0.1%) but at a significantly slower pace than in the previous quarter (1.1%). Higher growth in labour compensation per unit of labour input was the main driver for the rises in the United States and the euro area. In the euro area a 0.2% fall in labour productivity also drove up ULCs while in Japan a 3.1% increase in labour productivity almost fully offset the 3.2% rise in labour compensation. Among euro area countries, ULCs rose in Finland (0.9%), Germany (1.4%) and Italy (0.6%), but fell in Slovenia (-0.1%) and Spain (-0.1%). Outside Europe, ULCs rose in Australia (0.4%) and Canada (0.8%), but fell in Korea (-0.1%).

The next publication of the OECD's System of quarterly unit labour cost indexes will be mid December, 2011.

Contacts
For further information, journalists are invited to contact the OECD's Media Relations Division on (33) 1 45 24 97 00 or news.contact@oecd.org;  others should contact the Statistics Directorate on stat.contact@oecd.org.

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