In 2009, manufacturing labor productivity decreased in 12 of the 19 economies compared by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Over the 2008-2009 period, the United States had the largest productivity increase, 7.7 percent, and Japan had the steepest productivity decline, -11.4 percent.
For the first time, both output and hours in manufacturing declined in all 19 economies compared. In most economies, output declined by more than 10 percent and hours by more than 8 percent.
This data is from the International Labor Comparisons program. To learn more, see "International Comparisons of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Cost Trends, 2009" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-10-1749.
