Chart 1 
RATIO OF PROFITS TO WAGES 
(o 
Shaded areas represent periods of business recession as defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. 
Profits are measured by profits after taxes for nonfinancial corporations. Wages are measured by total compensation in non- 
financia! corporations. 
Source: Albert E. Burger, op. cit. 
TABLE I 
Factors Influencing Profits/Wages Ratio 
(annual rates of change) 
As seen in three business cycle expansions from the third quarter of 19 f >4 (111/54') 
to the fourtn quarter of 1969 (IV/69). The data are shown separately for two 
phases of each expansion: 
A- 1 he period from the trough to the mid-point of the expansion 
15—T he period from the mid-point to the peak of the expansion 
Three 
Expansions 
I 
! 
1 
Unit 
Labor 
Cost* 
Wholesale 
Prices of 
Industrial 
Goods 
Output 
Prices* 
Output 
Per 
Person 
Capacity 
Utilization 
Output 
Profits 4 
A. III/54-I/56 
15. 1/56-111/57 
A. II/515-II/59 . 
15. 11/59-11/60 
. ..4.6% ' 
6.11 
.....4,9 
4.5 
2.5% 
4.1 
-d.l 
4.7 
8.5% 
8.1 
2.5 
0.0 
-0.2% 
2.15 
1.3 
0.6 
8.5% 
1.4 
12.9 
~1.7 
9.6% 
-4.0 
16.4 
-8.8 
6.7% 
0.9 
20.8 
-0.9 
21.6%~ 
-4.2 
63.0 
-13.9 
A. 1/61-111/65 . 
15. 111/65-1V/69 ....... . 
8.9 
6.5 
-1.4 
4.2 
0.4 
2.7 
0.7 
3..'5- 
6.5 
1.6 
4.5 
-1.8 
10.1 
4.2 
25.6 
-4.0 
Note: Profits and compensation pertain to nonfinancial corporations. All other data pertain to total manufacturing. 
1. Employee compensation divided liy manhours 
y. Compensation divided by output 
C-onMimer price index of commodities less food 
< orpor.tfr profits after tax liability for nonfinancial corporations 
(/ornjir nsation of employees in nonfinancial corporations 
urcr: Alb'-rt K. Bunrer, Ibid. 
Compensa 
tion of 
I'bn ployees 5 
11.9% 
5.7 
15.2 
4.9 
7.8 
10.2