It is now well known that the turbulence structure of thin shear layers can be strongly affected by the application of extra rates of strain in addition to the shear velocity gradient. Examples of such extra strain rates include lateral divergence or convergence, and streamline curvature in the plane of the mean shear. The changes in Reynolds stress are an order of magnitude larger than would be expected from the explicit extra terms in the Reynolds-stress transport equations, and therefore an order of magnitude larger than predicted by conventional calculation methods. In the present paper, one of a series on ‘complex’ turbulent flows, we show that bulk compression or dilatation (i.e. an extra strain rate div U) also appears to affect turbulent shear layers, typical values of Reynolds stress being increased by compression and decreased by dilatation. The fractional change in Reynolds stress is an order of magnitude larger than the fractional change in volume of a fluid element. The physical mechanism is probably analogous to that responsible for the large effects of divergence or convergence in incompressible flow. Because the phenomenon seems to be of great practical importance we discuss it in the context of engineering calculation methods. An empirical correction formula, analogous to those used to allow for divergence or curvature effects, greatly reduces the large discrepancies found between recent experiments on supersonic boundary layers and calculations by conventional extensions of successful incompressible-flow methods.