Unit labour costs (ULC) in industry are on the rise in most major OECD economies. Second quarter 2007 data show moderate increases of 0.3% in the United States, the United Kingdom and France, 0.2% in Canada and a larger 0.9% rise in Italy.

In Germany they were unchanged following falls over the last few years. By contrast, ULC in industry continue to decline in Japan, where they fell 0.3% in the second quarter of 2007 and were also down by 2.7% over the year.

Unit labour costs in market services rose by 1.1% in the United States in the second quarter of 2007, continuing a strong rising trend to be up 6.1% over the year. Continued upward pressure on ULC in market services is also evident in Canada and France, with increases of
0.9% and 0.8% respectively in the second quarter of 2007. ULC in market services for Italy have returned to a higher path of growth, increasing by 0.7% in the first two quarters of 2007, whereas they have been virtually unchanged in Germany and the United Kingdom for the past few quarters. By contrast, the downward trend persists in Japan where ULC in market services fell 0.4% in the second quarter of 2007.