Cost-Competitiveness Indicators
The publication Cost-Competitiveness Indicators allows one to track the evolution of Brazilian industry’s competitiveness in relation to the country’s main trading partners, based on the unit labor costs (ULC), an indicator of cost-competitiveness. The annual publication presents the relative unit labor costs (Relative ULC), which compare the evolution of ULC between two countries, that is, Brazil and each of its main trading partners. It also presents a more general measure called the effective unit labor costs (Effective ULC), which is the weighted average of the relative ULC between Brazil and its main trading partners, with the weights given by the share of each partner in the country’s trade flows.
The Unit Labor Cost fell against competitors
In 2019, the unit labor cost (ULC) in the Brazilian Industry fell by 3.6% compared to the average ULC in the country’s main trading partners, according to the indicator of effective unit labor costs, measured in real US dollars. In 2019, the main determinant behind the decline in ULC was the effective labor productivity, which grew by 2.9% compared to 2018. For 2020, the effective ULC is expected to fall, continuing the downward trend of the last two years.
January 17, 2021
