Unit Labour Cost in United States

Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly · Importance

0.9% (Q2-26) QOQ · % · Quarterly · CSV

Recessions COVID recession

Period	%
Apr 2026	0.9%
Jan 2026	0.9%
Oct 2025	0.7%
Jul 2025	0.8%
Apr 2025	0.9%
Jan 2025	0.9%
Oct 2024	0.9%
Jul 2024	0.8%
Apr 2024	0.9%
Jan 2024	1.0%
Oct 2023	0.9%
Jul 2023	1.1%
Apr 2023	1.1%
Jan 2023	1.0%
Oct 2022	1.2%
Jul 2022	1.2%
Apr 2022	1.3%
Jan 2022	1.3%
Oct 2021	1.2%
Jul 2021	1.2%
Apr 2021	0.7%
Jan 2021	0.8%
Oct 2020	0.8%
Jul 2020	0.5%
Apr 2020	0.5%
Jan 2020	0.8%
Oct 2019	0.7%
Jul 2019	0.7%
Apr 2019	0.7%
Jan 2019	0.6%
Oct 2018	0.7%
Jul 2018	0.8%
Apr 2018	0.7%
Jan 2018	0.8%
Oct 2017	0.6%
Jul 2017	0.7%
Apr 2017	0.6%
Jan 2017	0.6%
Oct 2016	0.5%
Jul 2016	0.6%
Apr 2016	0.6%
Jan 2016	0.6%
Oct 2015	0.6%
Jul 2015	0.6%
Apr 2015	0.2%
Jan 2015	0.7%
Oct 2014	0.5%
Jul 2014	0.7%
Apr 2014	0.7%
Jan 2014	0.3%
Oct 2013	0.5%
Jul 2013	0.4%
Apr 2013	0.5%
Jan 2013	0.5%
Oct 2012	0.4%
Jul 2012	0.4%
Apr 2012	0.4%
Jan 2012	0.6%
Oct 2011	0.4%
Jul 2011	0.3%

About this indicator

Source

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Frequency

Quarterly

Release

In the quarter following the one it refers to.

What it is

It is an index that measures the cost of labor, ie, covers wages and salaries in gross terms, including all types of Bonus, Contributions to Social Security employees, and Net Taxes related to employment.

How it's calculated

Is calculated by the Labor Department. The unit labor costs index describes the relationship between compensation per hour worked and Productivity and Real Output per hour.

Market implications

It can be used as an inflation indicator. An increase in unit labor costs may be indicative of an increase in inflation in the future, if they move to final consumer prices.

Limitations

One must be careful when comparing several countries, as costs have a decisive influence. A country may be less productive in principle, but the cause is higher costs, that force you to produce less.