2020 Deterioration in Unit Labour Cost Position, but Data Distorted by COVID-19 Measures

In 2020, there was a marked year-on-year increase in unit labour costs in the manufacturing sector of 6.0 percent. In an international comparison, Austria's unit labour cost position worsened in 2020 compared with the weighted average of all trading partners (+1.7 percentage points) as well as compared with EU trading partners (+1.5 percentage points). In contrast, the unit labour cost position is almost unchanged compared with Germany, the most important trading partner (+0.1 percentage points). Due to differences between Austria and its main trading partners concerning the design and implementation of the COVID-19 aid measures (especially short-time work) as well as the statistical recording of these measures in the Quarterly National Accounts, the values for 2020 are of limited value both in terms of time and country comparison.