International Labor Comparisons (ILC)

The International Labor Comparisons (ILC) program adjusts data to a common conceptual framework because direct comparisons of national statistics across countries can be misleading due to differing concepts and methods. ILC data are used to assess U.S. economic and labor market performance relative to that of other countries and to evaluate the competitive position of the United States in increasingly global markets.

Data by indicator

Selected data by country

ILC News Releases

Latest News Releases

International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing, 2011 (HTML) (PDF)
International Comparisons of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Cost Trends, 2011 (HTML) (PDF)

ILC Databases

Database

Database Name	Special Notice	Top Picks	One Screen	Multi- Screen	Tables	Text Files
Labor force statistics, productivity and unit labor costs, consumer prices (International Labor Comparisons - ILC)

More Tools

Series Report—Already know the series identifier for the statistic you want? Use this shortcut to retrieve your data.
Text files (FTP)—Download a flat file of the entire database or large subset of the database.

ILC Tables

Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment

NOTE: Foreign-country data are adjusted to U.S. concepts unless otherwise noted.

Monthly unemployment rates and employment indexes, 2008-2012 (updated monthly)

Download entire report (HTML) (PDF) (XLS)

Annual labor force statistics, 1970-2011

Download entire report (HTML) (PDF 3MB)

Full series and underlying levels
- By indicator (XLS)
- By country (XLS)

Hourly Compensation Costs (Wages and Benefits)

In the Manufacturing Sector

NEW NEWS RELEASE Through 2011 (PDF) (HTML) (news release tables only, XLS)
Data tables, 1996-2011 (HTML) (XLS)
Technical Notes (PDF)
Country notes and data sources (PDF)
Discontinued series (HTML)

In Sub-Manufacturing Industries

Tables by industry, 2008-2011 (XLS) (HTML)
Tables by country, 2008-2011 (XLS) (HTML)
Discontinued series (HTML)

Productivity and Unit Labor Costs in Manufacturing

NEW NEWS RELEASE Through 2011 (HTML) (PDF)
Data tables, 1950-2011 (HTML) (XLS)
Technical Notes (PDF)

GDP per Capita and per Hour

Report through 2011 (HTML) (PDF)
Data tables 1960 - 2011 (XLS)

Consumer Prices

Monthly and annual CPI and HICP (updated monthly)

Download report (HTML) (PDF)
Data tables, 1950-2012 (XLS)

ILC Charts

Charting International Labor Comparisons (2012 edition)

Charts

Charting International Labor Comparisons, 2012 Edition (HTML) (PDF 8.6 MB)
Interactive Excel dashboards

ILC Special Studies

Manufacturing in China

Manufacturing in China (tables, charts, and data comparability) (HTML)

Publications

China's employment and compensation costs in manufacturing through 2008 (PDF)
China's manufacturing employment and compensation costs: 2002-06 (PDF)
Labor costs of manufacturing employees in China: an update to 2003-04 (PDF)
Manufacturing employment and compensation in China (revised November 2005), 1990-2002 (PDF)
The opinions, analysis, and conclusions expressed in this report are solely those of the author.
Manufacturing earnings and compensation in China, 1990-2002 (PDF)
Manufacturing employment in China, 1990-2002 (PDF)

Manufacturing in India

India's organized manufacturing sector (tables, charts, and data comparability) (HTML)

Publications

Labor costs in India's organized manufacturing sector (PDF 1.2MB)

ILC Publications

Latest Publications

Charting International Labor Comparisons, 2012 Edition (HTML) (PDF 8.6 MB)
China's employment and compensation costs in manufacturing through 2008 (PDF)
Compensation costs in manufacturing across industries and countries, 1975-2007 (PDF 1.4MB)
Labor Costs in India's Organized Manufacturing Sector (PDF 1.2MB)
Communication on Workplace Injuries (PDF)
A Portrait of the Youth Labor Market in 13 Countries, 1980-2007 (PDF)
International Comparisons of Hours Worked: An Assessment of the Statistics (PDF)
Comparative Civilian Labor Force Statistics, 10 countries: A Visual Essay (PDF)
International Comparisons of Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices (PDF)

All ILC Publications »

ILC Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is productivity?
What does hourly compensation costs mean?
What are other major sources of international labor statistics?

All ILC FAQs »

Contact ILC

Contacts

General information:
Tel: (202) 691-5654
Email: Contact ILC
Información en español: (202) 691-5029

Contacts by topic:

Hourly compensation (wages and benefits)	Elizabeth Crofoot	(202) 691-5029
Productivity and unit labor costs	Aaron Cobet	(202) 691-5018
Labor force, employment, and unemployment	Rich Esposito	(202) 691-6071
GDP per capita and per employed person	Aaron Cobet	(202) 691-5018
Consumer prices	Mubarka Haq	(202) 691-5772
China	Chris Sparks	(202) 691-5034
Información en español	Elizabeth Crofoot	(202) 691-5029

Send written inquiries to:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
International Labor Comparisons
Suite 2150
2 Massachusetts Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20212

Related Links

Other BLS Programs

Import/Export Price Indexes—monthly data on changes in the prices of imported and exported nonmilitary goods traded between the U.S. and the rest of the world.
International Technical Cooperation—conducts training in labor statistics for international participants and coordinates international requests for BLS services including technical experts and short-term visits to BLS.

Other sources of international data

Foreign statistical agencies and international organizations

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics