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Labor productivity relates output to the labor hours used in the production of that output. Two BLS programs produce labor productivity and costs (LPC) measures for sectors of the U.S. economy.
The Major Sector Productivity program publishes quarterly and annual measures of output per hour and unit labor costs for the U.S. business, nonfarm business, and manufacturing sectors. These are the productivity statistics most often cited by the national media.
The Industry Productivity program publishes annual measures of output per hour and unit labor costs for U.S. industries.
May 06, 2010
Productivity increased 3.6 percent in the nonfarm business sector during
the first quarter of 2010 as unit labor costs fell 1.6 percent (seasonally
adjusted annual rates). In manufacturing, productivity grew 2.5 percent
while unit labor costs fell 3.7 percent.
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December 09, 2009
Labor productivity (output per hour) rose in 53 percent of detailed
manufacturing industries in 2007, about the same proportion as in the previous
year. Output fell and hours declined in more industries in 2007 than in 2006.
Unit labor costs fell in 19 percent of the industries.
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August 28, 2009
Labor productivity (output per hour) declined in wholesale trade, retail trade,
and food services and drinking places in 2008. Productivity fell in 26 of the
50 detailed industries studied. Unit labor costs rose in 29 detailed industries,
and increased in all three sectors in 2008.
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May 20, 2009
Labor productivity (output per hour) rose in 66 percent of the detailed
service-providing and mining industries studied in 2007, about the same
proportion as in 2006. Unit labor costs increased in 70 percent of the
industries, compared to 76 percent in 2006.
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Archived
Tables
Major Sector Data
Industry Data
Technical Notes
- NEW "Employment and Hours of All Persons for a Comprehensive Set of Industries" (HTML) (PDF) Report 1019, September 2009.
- "Technical Information About the Major Sector Productivity and Costs Methods" (HTML) (PDF 58 KB) This document describes the labor productivity measures that BLS publishes for the major sectors of the U.S. economy, as well as the methodology used to calculate these measures. February 2008.
- Note on the Differences Between the /Quarterly Hourly Compensation Measures and the Employment Cost Index (ECI), January 2007.
- Construction of Employment and Hours for Self-employed and other Nonfarm workers and for all Farm workers, using Current Population Survey data for primary and secondary jobs." (PDF 106K), March 2006.
- "Construction of Average Weekly Hours for Supervisory and Nonproduction Wage and Salary Workers in Detailed Industries" (PDF 151K), August 2005.
- "Construction of average weekly hours for supervisory and nonproduction wage and salary workers in private nonfarm establishments" (PDF 46K), October 2004.
- "Hours at work ratios derived from the Employment Cost Index, 2001-2003" (PDF 689KB), Brief description of the Bureau of Labor Statistics new ratios of hours at work to hours paid and reasons for the discontinuation of the Hours at Work Survey.
Publications
- "New Service Industry Productivity Measures," (PDF 31K) Report 993, February 2006
- "Industry productivity trends under the North American Industry Classification system" (PDF 87K), by Matthew Russell, Paul Takac, and Lisa Usher, Monthly Labor Review, November 2004, pp.31-42.
- "New Service Industry Productivity Measures," (PDF 30K) Report 979, September 2004.
- "Alternative measures of supervisory employee hours and productivity growth" (PDF 273K), by Lucy P. Eldridge, Marilyn E. Manser, and Phyllis Flohr Otto, Monthly Labor Review, April 2004.
- "The Effect of Outsourcing and Offshoring on BLS Productivity Measures" (PDF 32K), March 26, 2004.
- "New Transportation and Service Productivity Measures", (PDF 38K) Report 964, January 2003.
- "Unit Labor Costs for Selected Industries, 1987-97," (PDF 86K) Report 939, November 1999.
- "BLS completes major expansion of industry productivity series, (PDF 300K) by John Duke and Lisa Usher, Monthly Labor Review, September 1998, pp. 35-51.
- "The BLS Productivity Measurement Program," (PDF 95K), by Edwin R. Dean and Michael J. Harper, Discussion Paper presented at the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth: New Directions in Productivity Research, March 20-21, 1998.
- "Improvements to the Quarterly Productivity Measures" (PDF 400K), by Edwin R. Dean, Michael J. Harper, and Phyllis Flohr Otto, Monthly Labor Review, October 1995.
- Archive of MLR Articles on Productivity and Technology.
Other BLS Programs
Other Useful Links
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