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Economic News Release
PRINT:Print

Productivity and Costs News Release



Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until     USDL-10-1518   
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, November 4, 2010

Technical information: (202) 691-5606   dprweb@bls.gov  www.bls.gov/lpc
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902   PressOffice@bls.gov



                         PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
                     Third Quarter 2010, Preliminary
                     
                     

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 1.9 percent 
annual rate during the third quarter of 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 
Statistics reported today. Labor productivity, or output per hour, is 
calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked 
by all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family 
workers. Output increased 3.0 percent and hours worked increased 1.1 
percent in the third quarter. (All quarterly percent changes in this 
release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) Productivity increased 2.5 
percent over the last four quarters, as output rose 4.1 percent and hours 
worked rose 1.6 percent (tables A and 2).  

Unit labor costs in nonfarm businesses decreased 0.1 percent in the third 
quarter of 2010, because productivity grew 1.9 percent while hourly 
compensation increased 1.8 percent. From the third quarter of 2009 to the 
third quarter of 2010, unit labor costs declined 1.9 percent (tables A and 
2). BLS defines unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to 
labor productivity; increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit 
labor costs and increases in output per hour tend to reduce them. 

Manufacturing sector productivity rose 0.4 percent in the third quarter of 
2010, as output grew 4.0 percent and hours worked increased 3.6 percent. 
Over the last four quarters, manufacturing productivity increased 3.9 
percent as output rose 7.0 percent and hours increased 3.0 percent (tables 
A and 3).  Productivity for the sector increased at a 6.3 percent annual 
rate during the five quarters of the current business cycle expansion, 
which began in the third quarter of 2009. This contrasts with the 1.3 
percent productivity decline during the recent recession, as measured from 
the fourth quarter of 2007 through the second quarter of 2009.

In the third quarter of 2010, productivity declined 0.8 percent in the 
durable goods manufacturing sector as output grew more slowly than hours 
worked; productivity in nondurable goods industries increased 2.9 percent 
as output rose 2.2 percent while hours fell 0.7 percent (tables A, 4, and 
5).  

Manufacturing unit labor costs fell 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 
2010 and 4.6 percent from the same quarter a year ago (tables A and 3).  
The four-quarter decline in unit labor costs reflects a 3.9 percent 
increase in productivity and a 0.9 percent decline in hourly compensation.

The data sources and methods used in the preparation of the manufacturing 
output series differ from those used in preparing the business and nonfarm 
business output series, and these measures are not directly comparable. 
See Technical Notes for further information on data sources. 



Revised measures

Nonfarm business productivity for the second quarter of 2010 fell at the 
same 1.8 percent rate that was reported on September 2. Unit labor costs 
were revised up due to an upward revision in hourly compensation. In the 
manufacturing sector, productivity increased at an annual rate of 5.4 
percent in the second quarter, rather than 4.1 percent as reported 
September 2. Manufacturing unit labor costs declined 6.4 percent in the 
second quarter.  

In the nonfinancial corporate sector, revised data for the second quarter 
of 2010 show that productivity fell 1.6 percent, more than the 0.5 percent 
decline reported previously. After revision, unit labor costs increased 
0.9 percent in the second quarter, following two quarters of large 
declines. Unit profits increased at a 21.7 percent annual rate in the 
second quarter of 2010.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is conducting a customer survey to solicit 
suggestions from the public to enhance the quality and relevance of BLS 
productivity data and publications. The survey is available at 
www.bls.gov/lpc until December 15, 2010. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------




-------------
The revised Productivity and Costs press release for third quarter 2010 is 
scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 1, 2010 at 8:30 a.m.(EST).





======================================================================================================
Table A. Preliminary third-quarter 2010 measures: percent change from previous quarter, annual 
rate (Q to Q) and from same quarter a year ago (Y to Y)

Sector                    Nonfarm                                        Durable         Nondurable
                          Business         Business      Manufacturing   Manufacturing   Manufacturing
                       Q to Q   Y to Y  Q to Q  Y to Y  Q to Q  Y to Y  Q to Q  Y to Y  Q to Q  Y to Y
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Productivity             1.9     2.5      2.2     2.5     0.4     3.9    -0.8     5.4     2.9     2.6
Output                   3.0     4.1      3.0     4.1     4.0     7.0     5.6     9.4     2.2     4.2
Hours                    1.1     1.6      0.8     1.5     3.6     3.0     6.4     3.9    -0.7     1.6
Hourly 
 compensation            1.8     0.5      2.1     0.4     0.1    -0.9    -1.0    -1.3     1.6    -0.4
Real hourly 
 compensation            0.4    -0.8      0.7    -0.8    -1.4    -2.1    -2.5    -2.5     0.1    -1.6
Unit labor 
 costs                  -0.1    -1.9     -0.1    -2.0    -0.3    -4.6    -0.2    -6.3    -1.3    -2.9

======================================================================================================
Table B. Revised and previous measures for: second quarter 2010

Sector            Nonfarm                                             Durable           Nondurable
                  Business         Business         Manufacturing     Manufacturing     Manufacturing
              Revised Previous  Revised Previous  Revised Previous  Revised Previous  Revised Previous
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Percent change, annual rate

Productivity     -1.8   -1.8     -1.8    -1.9       5.4      4.1      11.6       9.9    -1.6     -2.4
Output            1.6    1.6      1.8     1.7       9.6      8.4      15.1      13.6     3.7      2.8
Hours             3.5    3.5      3.7     3.7       4.0      4.1       3.1       3.4     5.3      5.3
Hourly  
 compensation    -0.6   -0.7     -0.7    -0.8      -1.3     -2.0      -1.3      -1.9    -1.3     -2.1
Real hourly 
 compensation     0.1    0.0      0.0    -0.1      -0.6     -1.3      -0.5      -1.2    -0.6     -1.4
Unit labor
 costs            1.3    1.1      1.1     1.1      -6.4     -5.9     -11.5     -10.7     0.3      0.3

======================================================================================================
Table C.  Nonfinancial corporations: revised and previous second-quarter 2010 productivity and 
cost measures
                                                        Real 
                                           Hourly       hourly        Unit                    Implicit
             Produc-                       compen-      compen-       labor       Unit        price
             tivity    Output     Hours    sation       sation        costs       profits     deflator
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------          
                                        Percent change, annual rate

Revised       -1.6      2.7        4.3      -0.7          0.0          0.9        21.7            2.6
Previous      -0.5      4.0        4.5      -1.0         -0.3         -0.5        31.2            2.7
======================================================================================================


        










			TECHNICAL NOTES

Labor Hours: Hours data for the labor productivity and cost measures 
include hours for all persons working in the sector--wage and salary 
workers, the self-employed and unpaid family workers.  The primary source 
of hours and employment data is the BLS Current Employment Statistics 
(CES) program, which provides monthly survey data on the number of jobs 
held by wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments.  The CES also 
provides average weekly paid hours of production and nonsupervisory 
workers in these establishments.  Weekly paid hours are adjusted to hours 
at work using data from the National Compensation Survey (NCS).  The BLS 
Hours at Work survey, conducted for this purpose, was used for earlier 
years.  The Office of Productivity and Technology estimates average weekly 
hours at work for nonproduction and supervisory workers using information 
from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the CES, and the NCS.
     Data from the CPS are used for farm labor, nonfarm proprietors, and 
nonfarm unpaid family workers.  Estimates of labor input for government 
enterprises are derived from the CPS, the CES, and the National Income and 
Product Accounts (NIPA) prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) 
of the Department of Commerce.
     The CES measures jobs, counting a person who is employed by two or 
more establishments at each place of employment. In contrast, the CPS 
features measures of employment that count each person only once and 
classify each person according to his or her primary job; hours worked at 
all jobs by that person accrue to his or her primary job.  However, the 
CPS also collects more detailed information on employment and hours worked 
at primary jobs and all other jobs, separately.  The BLS productivity 
measures use the more detailed information on employment and hours to 
assign all hours worked to the correct industrial sector and avoid 
duplicating hours data from the CES.

Output: Business sector output is a chain-type, current-weighted index 
constructed after excluding from gross domestic product (GDP) the 
following outputs: general government, nonprofit institutions, and private 
households (including owner-occupied housing). Corresponding exclusions 
also are made in labor inputs. Business output accounted for about 75 
percent of the value of GDP in 2009. Nonfarm business, which excludes 
farming, accounted for about 74 percent of GDP in 2009.
     Annual indexes for manufacturing and its durable and nondurable goods 
components are constructed by deflating current-dollar industry value of 
production data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census with deflators from the 
BLS.  These deflators are based on data from the BLS producer price 
program and other sources.  The industry shipments are aggregated using 
annual weights, and intrasector transactions are removed.  Quarterly 
manufacturing output measures are based on the index of industrial 
production prepared monthly by the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, adjusted to be consistent with annual indexes of 
manufacturing sector output prepared by BLS.  Durables include the 
following 3-digit NAICS industries: wood product manufacturing; 
nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing; primary metal manufacturing; 
fabricated metal product manufacturing; machinery manufacturing; computer 
and electronic product manufacturing; electrical equipment and appliance 
manufacturing; transportation equipment manufacturing; furniture and 
related product manufacturing; and miscellaneous manufacturing. 
Nondurables include: food manufacturing; beverage and tobacco product 
manufacturing; textile mills; textile product mills; apparel 
manufacturing; leather and allied product manufacturing; paper 
manufacturing; printing and related support activities; petroleum and coal 
products manufacturing; chemical manufacturing; and plastics and rubber 
products manufacturing.
     Nonfinancial corporate output is a chain-type, current-weighted index 
calculated on the basis of the costs incurred and the incomes earned from 
production.  The output measure excludes the following outputs from GDP: 
general government; nonprofit institutions; private households; 
unincorporated business; and those corporations classified as offices of 
bank holding companies, offices of other holding companies, or offices in 
the finance and insurance sector. Nonfinancial corporations accounted for 
about 47 percent of the value of GDP in 2009.
     
Productivity: These productivity measures describe the relationship 
between real output and the labor time involved in its production. They 
show the changes from period to period in the amount of goods and services 
produced per hour. Although these measures relate output to hours at work 
of all persons engaged in a sector, they do not measure the specific 
contribution of labor, capital, or any other factor of production. Rather, 
they reflect the joint effects of many influences, including changes in 
technology; capital investment; level of output; utilization of capacity, 
energy, and materials; the organization of production; managerial skill; 
and the characteristics and effort of the work force.

Labor Compensation: The measure includes accrued wages and salaries, 
supplements, employer contributions to employee benefit plans, and taxes.  
Estimates of labor compensation by major sector, required for measures of 
hourly compensation and unit labor costs, are based primarily on employee 
compensation data from the NIPA, prepared by the BEA.  The compensation of 
employees in general government, nonprofit institutions and private 
households are subtracted from compensation of domestic employees to 
derive employee compensation for the business sector. The labor 
compensation of proprietors cannot be explicitly identified and must be 
estimated.  This is done by assuming that proprietors have the same hourly 
compensation as employees in the same sector.  The quarterly labor 
productivity and cost measures do not contain estimates of compensation 
for unpaid family workers.  
      
Unit Labor Costs:  The measures of unit labor costs in this release 
describe the relationship between compensation per hour and productivity, 
or real output per hour, and can be used as an indicator of inflationary 
pressure on producers.  Increases in hourly compensation increase unit 
labor costs; labor productivity increases offset compensation increases 
and lower unit labor costs. 

Presentation of the data:  The quarterly data in this release are 
presented in three ways: as percent changes from the previous quarter 
presented at a compound annual rate, as percent changes from the 
corresponding quarter of the previous year, and as index number series 
where 2005=100.  Annual data are presented both as index number series and 
percent changes from the previous year.  
	The index numbers and rates of change reported in the productivity 
and costs news release are rounded to one decimal place.  All percent 
changes in this release and on the BLS web site are calculated using index 
numbers to three decimal places.  These index numbers are available at the 
BLS web site, www.bls.gov/data/home.htm, or by contacting the BLS Division 
of Major Sector Productivity.  (Telephone 202-691-5606 or email 
DPRWEB@BLS.GOV)
      
Information in this release will be made available to sensory-impaired 
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5606; Federal Relay 
Service number: 1-800-877-8339.




Table 1. Business sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and prices,
seasonally adjusted
                                                          Real
             Output                            Compen-    compen-               Unit       Implicit
 Year        per hour               Hours      sation     sation      Unit      nonlabor   price
 and         of all                 of all     per hour   per hour    labor     payments   deflator
 quarter     persons     Output     persons      (1)        (2)       costs       (3)        (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

2010 III       2.2         3.0        0.8        2.1        0.7       -0.1        6.1        2.5  
     II       -1.8 r       1.8 r      3.7       -0.7 r      0.0 r      1.1        4.4 r      2.5  
     I         3.5         5.0        1.4       -1.1       -2.6       -4.5        9.6        1.2  

2009 ANNUAL    3.5        -3.7       -6.9        1.8        2.2       -1.6        3.8        0.5  

2009 IV        6.1         6.5        0.3        1.5       -1.2       -4.4        5.2       -0.5  
     III       7.2         1.6       -5.3        3.8        0.0       -3.2        7.4        0.9  
     II        8.3        -0.3       -7.9        9.0        7.1        0.6       -2.9       -0.8  
     I         3.5        -6.2       -9.4       -3.6       -1.5       -6.9       13.6        0.8  

2008 ANNUAL    1.1        -0.9       -2.0        3.2       -0.6        2.1        1.4        1.8  

2008 IV       -0.3        -9.3       -9.0        0.8       11.0        1.1       -7.9       -2.6  
     III      -1.1        -6.1       -5.0        3.6       -2.6        4.8        5.7        5.1  
     II        1.2        -0.6       -1.8        0.1       -4.8       -1.1       12.3        4.0  
     I        -0.9        -2.0       -1.1        4.5       -0.3        5.4       -5.7        0.9  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

2010 III       2.5         4.1        1.5        0.4       -0.8       -2.0        6.3        1.4  
     II        3.7         3.7        0.0        0.8       -0.9 r     -2.8        6.6        1.0  
     I         6.3         3.2       -2.9        3.2        0.8       -2.9        4.7        0.2  

2009 ANNUAL    3.5        -3.7       -6.9        1.8        2.2       -1.6        3.8        0.5  

2009 IV        6.3         0.3       -5.6        2.5        1.0       -3.5        5.6        0.1  
     III       4.6        -3.7       -7.9        2.4        4.0       -2.2        2.2       -0.4  
     II        2.5        -5.5       -7.8        2.3        3.3       -0.2        1.8        0.6  
     I         0.8        -5.6       -6.3        0.2        0.3       -0.6        5.6        1.8  

2008 ANNUAL    1.1        -0.9       -2.0        3.2       -0.6        2.1        1.4        1.8  

2008 IV       -0.3        -4.5       -4.3        2.2        0.6        2.5        0.8        1.8  
     III       0.5        -1.5       -2.0        3.4       -1.8        2.8        1.9        2.5  
     II        1.9         0.6       -1.2        3.3       -0.9        1.4        1.8        1.6  
     I         2.4         1.7       -0.6        3.9       -0.3        1.5        1.3        1.4  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Indexes 2005=100

2010 III     111.1       104.2       93.8      115.1      103.1      103.7      119.0      109.8  
     II      110.4 r     103.4 r     93.7 r    114.5 r    102.9 r    103.7 r    117.3 r    109.1 r
     I       111.0       103.0       92.8      114.7      102.9      103.4      116.0      108.4  

2009 ANNUAL  107.3       100.4       93.6      113.6      103.4      105.9      111.6      108.1  

2009 IV      110.0       101.7       92.5      115.1      103.6      104.6      113.4      108.1  
     III     108.4       100.1       92.4      114.6      103.9      105.8      112.0      108.2  
     II      106.5        99.8       93.7      113.6      103.9      106.6      110.0      108.0  
     I       104.4        99.8       95.6      111.2      102.1      106.5      110.8      108.2  

2008 ANNUAL  103.6       104.2      100.5      111.5      101.1      107.6      107.5      107.6  

2008 IV      103.5       101.4       98.0      112.2      102.5      108.4      107.3      108.0  
     III     103.6       103.9      100.3      112.0       99.9      108.1      109.6      108.7  
     II      103.9       105.6      101.6      111.0      100.6      106.8      108.1      107.3  
     I       103.6       105.7      102.1      111.0      101.8      107.1      105.0      106.3  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6.                                                   November 4, 2010
r=revised                                                        Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics



Table 2. Nonfarm business sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and prices,
seasonally adjusted
                                                          Real
             Output                            Compen-    compen-               Unit       Implicit
 Year        per hour               Hours      sation     sation      Unit      nonlabor   price
 and         of all                 of all     per hour   per hour    labor     payments   deflator
 quarter     persons     Output     persons      (1)        (2)       costs       (3)        (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

2010 III       1.9         3.0        1.1        1.8        0.4       -0.1        4.9        2.0  
     II       -1.8         1.6        3.5       -0.6 r      0.1 r      1.3 r      4.4 r      2.6  
     I         3.9         5.0        1.1       -0.9       -2.4       -4.6        9.8        1.2  

2009 ANNUAL    3.5        -3.8       -7.0        1.9        2.2       -1.6        4.6        0.8  

2009 IV        6.0         6.7        0.7        1.5       -1.1       -4.2        3.5       -1.1  
     III       7.0         1.4       -5.2        3.4       -0.3       -3.3        8.1        1.1  
     II        8.4        -0.2       -7.9        9.1        7.2        0.6       -2.9       -0.8  
     I         3.4        -6.4       -9.5       -3.7       -1.6       -6.9       15.4        1.4  

2008 ANNUAL    1.0        -1.1       -2.1        3.3       -0.5        2.2        1.2        1.8  

2008 IV       -0.1        -9.5       -9.5        1.1       11.3        1.2       -6.5       -1.9  
     III      -1.3        -6.2       -4.9        3.7       -2.6        5.0        6.0        5.4  
     II        1.2        -0.3       -1.5       -0.2       -5.1       -1.4       13.6        4.2  
     I        -1.4        -2.5       -1.2        4.7        0.0        6.2       -7.0        0.8  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

2010 III       2.5         4.1        1.6        0.5       -0.8       -1.9        5.6        1.2  
     II        3.7         3.7        0.0        0.8       -0.9 r     -2.7 r      6.4 r      0.9  
     I         6.3         3.2       -2.9        3.2        0.8       -2.9        4.5        0.1  

2009 ANNUAL    3.5        -3.8       -7.0        1.9        2.2       -1.6        4.6        0.8  

2009 IV        6.2         0.3       -5.6        2.5        1.0       -3.5        5.8        0.2  
     III       4.6        -3.8       -8.0        2.4        4.0       -2.2        3.2        0.0  
     II        2.5        -5.6       -8.0        2.4        3.4       -0.1        2.7        1.0  
     I         0.8        -5.7       -6.4        0.2        0.3       -0.6        6.8        2.2  

2008 ANNUAL    1.0        -1.1       -2.1        3.3       -0.5        2.2        1.2        1.8  

2008 IV       -0.4        -4.7       -4.3        2.3        0.7        2.7        1.2        2.1  
     III       0.5        -1.7       -2.2        3.6       -1.6        3.1        1.6        2.5  
     II        1.9         0.5       -1.3        3.5       -0.8        1.6        1.4        1.5  
     I         2.2         1.6       -0.6        3.8       -0.3        1.6        0.7        1.2  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Indexes 2005=100

2010 III     110.9       104.1       93.9      115.1      103.0      103.7      118.9      109.7  
     II      110.4 r     103.3 r     93.6 r    114.5 r    102.9 r    103.8 r    117.5 r    109.2 r
     I       110.9       102.9       92.8      114.7      102.9      103.4      116.2      108.5  

2009 ANNUAL  107.2       100.3       93.5      113.5      103.3      105.9      111.9      108.3  

2009 IV      109.9       101.7       92.5      115.0      103.5      104.7      113.5      108.2  
     III     108.3       100.0       92.4      114.5      103.8      105.8      112.6      108.5  
     II      106.5        99.7       93.6      113.6      103.9      106.7      110.4      108.2  
     I       104.3        99.7       95.6      111.1      102.1      106.5      111.2      108.4  

2008 ANNUAL  103.6       104.2      100.6      111.5      101.1      107.6      107.0      107.4  

2008 IV      103.5       101.4       98.0      112.2      102.5      108.4      107.3      108.0  
     III     103.5       104.0      100.5      111.9       99.8      108.1      109.1      108.5  
     II      103.8       105.6      101.7      110.9      100.5      106.8      107.5      107.1  
     I       103.5       105.7      102.1      111.0      101.8      107.2      104.2      106.0  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6.                                                   November 4, 2010
r=revised                                                        Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics



Table 3. Manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted
                                                                              Real
                 Output                                        Compen-        compen-
 Year            per hour                      Hours           sation         sation         Unit
 and             of all                        of all          per hour       per hour       labor
 quarter         persons        Output         persons           (1)            (2)          costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

2010 III           0.4            4.0            3.6            0.1           -1.4           -0.3  
     II            5.4 r          9.6 r          4.0 r         -1.3 r         -0.6 r         -6.4 r
     I             1.7 r          7.1 r          5.3           -6.5           -7.9           -8.1 r

2009 ANNUAL        2.0          -10.9          -12.6            5.2            5.6            3.2  

2009 IV            8.1            7.2           -0.8            4.4            1.6           -3.5  
     III          16.9           10.9           -5.1            3.3           -0.4          -11.6  
     II            6.2           -8.5          -13.8            6.5            4.6            0.3  
     I            -1.8          -20.9          -19.4            4.0            6.3            5.9  

2008 ANNUAL       -0.7           -4.7           -4.0            4.0            0.1            4.6  

2008 IV           -2.6          -18.3          -16.1            7.0           17.9            9.9  
     III          -1.5          -10.4           -9.0            6.3           -0.1            7.9  
     II           -6.7           -7.9           -1.4            3.4           -1.7           10.7  
     I            -0.7           -2.7           -2.0            2.2           -2.4            2.9  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

2010 III           3.9            7.0            3.0           -0.9           -2.1           -4.6  
     II            7.9 r          8.7 r          0.8           -0.1 r         -1.9 r         -7.4 r
     I             8.1            3.9           -3.9            1.8           -0.6           -5.8  

2009 ANNUAL        2.0          -10.9          -12.6            5.2            5.6            3.2  

2009 IV            7.1           -3.7          -10.1            4.5            3.0           -2.4  
     III           4.4          -10.0          -13.8            5.2            6.9            0.8  
     II            0.0          -14.7          -14.7            5.9            7.0            5.9  
     I            -3.2          -14.5          -11.8            5.2            5.3            8.6  

2008 ANNUAL       -0.7           -4.7           -4.0            4.0            0.1            4.6  

2008 IV           -2.9          -10.0           -7.3            4.7            3.1            7.8  
     III          -1.4           -5.6           -4.3            5.1           -0.2            6.6  
     II           -0.3           -3.0           -2.7            3.8           -0.5            4.1  
     I             2.0            0.0           -2.0            2.5           -1.7            0.4  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Indexes 2005=100

2010 III         111.7           94.0           84.2          114.8          102.8          102.8  
     II          111.6 r         93.1 r         83.5 r        114.8 r        103.1 r        102.9 r
     I           110.1 r         91.0 r         82.7          115.2          103.3          104.6 r

2009 ANNUAL      105.6           87.7           83.0          115.2          104.9          109.2  

2009 IV          109.6           89.5           81.6          117.1          105.4          106.8  
     III         107.5           87.9           81.8          115.9          105.0          107.8  
     II          103.4           85.7           82.8          114.9          105.1          111.1  
     I           101.9           87.6           86.0          113.1          103.9          111.1  

2008 ANNUAL      103.5           98.4           95.0          109.5           99.3          105.8  

2008 IV          102.3           92.9           90.7          112.0          102.4          109.5  
     III         103.0           97.7           94.8          110.1           98.2          106.9  
     II          103.4          100.4           97.1          108.5           98.3          104.9  
     I           105.2          102.5           97.4          107.6           98.7          102.3  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6.                                                   November 4, 2010
r=revised                                                        Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics



Table 4. Durable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted
                                                                              Real
                 Output                                        Compen-        compen-
 Year            per hour                      Hours           sation         sation         Unit
 and             of all                        of all          per hour       per hour       labor
 quarter         persons        Output         persons           (1)            (2)          costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

2010 III          -0.8            5.6            6.4           -1.0           -2.5           -0.2  
     II           11.6 r         15.1 r          3.1 r         -1.3 r         -0.5 r        -11.5 r
     I             2.4            9.3            6.8           -7.8           -9.2          -10.0  

2009 ANNUAL        0.2          -14.9          -15.1            5.8            6.2            5.5  

2009 IV            8.7            8.0           -0.7            5.3            2.5           -3.1  
     III          25.8           17.2           -6.8            2.9           -0.8          -18.2  
     II            5.3          -14.3          -18.6           11.6            9.6            6.0  
     I            -7.5          -28.8          -23.0            2.1            4.4           10.4  

2008 ANNUAL        0.1           -4.1           -4.2            3.5           -0.3            3.4  

2008 IV           -9.9          -24.2          -15.9            6.6           17.4           18.3  
     III           2.8          -10.2          -12.7            7.3            0.9            4.4  
     II           -8.1           -8.8           -0.8            3.8           -1.2           13.0  
     I            -0.3           -0.2            0.1           -0.3           -4.8            0.0  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

2010 III           5.4            9.4            3.9           -1.3           -2.5           -6.3  
     II           11.8 r         12.3 r          0.5           -0.3 r         -2.1 r        -10.9 r
     I            10.2            4.3           -5.3            2.7            0.3           -6.7 r

2009 ANNUAL        0.2          -14.9          -15.1            5.8            6.2            5.5  

2009 IV            7.4           -6.3          -12.7            5.4            3.9           -1.9  
     III           2.5          -14.2          -16.3            5.7            7.5            3.1  
     II           -2.5          -19.7          -17.6            6.8            7.9            9.6  
     I            -5.8          -18.5          -13.5            4.9            5.1           11.4  

2008 ANNUAL        0.1           -4.1           -4.2            3.5           -0.3            3.4  

2008 IV           -4.0          -11.3           -7.6            4.3            2.7            8.7  
     III           0.3           -4.8           -5.1            4.9           -0.4            4.6  
     II            0.3           -2.2           -2.5            3.5           -0.7            3.2  
     I             3.8            1.9           -1.9            1.6           -2.5           -2.1  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Indexes 2005=100

2010 III         115.5           94.5           81.8          115.5          103.4          100.0  
     II          115.8 r         93.3 r         80.6 r        115.8 r        104.1 r        100.1 r
     I           112.6 r         90.1 r         80.0          116.2          104.2          103.2 r

2009 ANNUAL      106.8           86.0           80.5          116.2          105.8          108.8  

2009 IV          112.0           88.1           78.7          118.6          106.8          105.9  
     III         109.7           86.4           78.8          117.1          106.1          106.8  
     II          103.5           83.0           80.2          116.2          106.3          112.2  
     I           102.2           86.3           84.4          113.1          103.9          110.6  

2008 ANNUAL      106.5          101.0           94.8          109.9           99.6          103.2  

2008 IV          104.2           94.0           90.2          112.5          102.8          107.9  
     III         107.0          100.7           94.1          110.7           98.7          103.5  
     II          106.2          103.4           97.4          108.8           98.5          102.4  
     I           108.5          105.9           97.6          107.8           98.8           99.3  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6.                                                   November 4, 2010
r=revised                                                        Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics



Table 5. Nondurable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted
                                                                              Real
                 Output                                        Compen-        compen-
 Year            per hour                      Hours           sation         sation         Unit
 and             of all                        of all          per hour       per hour       labor
 quarter         persons        Output         persons           (1)            (2)          costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

2010 III           2.9            2.2           -0.7            1.6            0.1           -1.3  
     II           -1.6 r          3.7 r          5.3           -1.3 r         -0.6 r          0.3  
     I             1.6 r          4.8 r          3.1           -4.4           -5.8           -5.9 r

2009 ANNUAL        2.5           -6.0           -8.3            4.8            5.2            2.3  

2009 IV            7.5            6.3           -1.2            2.7            0.0           -4.5  
     III           6.7            4.3           -2.2            4.5            0.8           -2.0  
     II            4.1           -1.5           -5.4           -1.1           -2.8           -5.0  
     I             2.5          -10.7          -12.9            8.4           10.8            5.7  

2008 ANNUAL       -1.6           -5.3           -3.7            4.9            1.0            6.6  

2008 IV            7.0          -10.7          -16.6            7.8           18.7            0.8  
     III          -8.5          -10.6           -2.3            5.2           -1.1           15.0  
     II           -4.7           -6.8           -2.3            2.3           -2.7            7.3  
     I            -0.1           -5.6           -5.5            6.9            2.1            7.0  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

2010 III           2.6            4.2            1.6           -0.4           -1.6           -2.9  
     II            3.5 r          4.8 r          1.2            0.3 r         -1.4 r         -3.1 r
     I             5.0 r          3.4           -1.5            0.4           -2.0           -4.4 r

2009 ANNUAL        2.5           -6.0           -8.3            4.8            5.2            2.3  

2009 IV            5.2           -0.6           -5.5            3.6            2.0           -1.6  
     III           5.1           -4.9           -9.4            4.8            6.5           -0.2  
     II            1.1           -8.5           -9.5            5.0            6.0            3.9  
     I            -1.1           -9.7           -8.7            5.9            6.1            7.1  

2008 ANNUAL       -1.6           -5.3           -3.7            4.9            1.0            6.6  

2008 IV           -1.7           -8.5           -6.9            5.5            3.9            7.4  
     III          -3.9           -6.6           -2.8            5.7            0.4           10.0  
     II           -1.0           -4.0           -3.0            4.3            0.0            5.3  
     I             0.1           -2.1           -2.2            4.1           -0.1            4.0  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Indexes 2005=100

2010 III         106.2           93.8           88.3          114.0          102.1          107.4  
     II          105.4 r         93.3 r         88.5          113.6 r        102.1 r        107.8 r
     I           105.8 r         92.4 r         87.4          114.0          102.2          107.7 r

2009 ANNUAL      102.9           89.9           87.4          114.1          103.9          111.0  

2009 IV          105.4           91.4           86.7          115.3          103.8          109.4  
     III         103.5           90.0           86.9          114.5          103.8          110.6  
     II          101.8           89.0           87.4          113.3          103.6          111.2  
     I           100.8           89.4           88.7          113.6          104.3          112.7  

2008 ANNUAL      100.3           95.7           95.4          108.9           98.7          108.5  

2008 IV          100.2           91.9           91.8          111.3          101.7          111.1  
     III          98.5           94.6           96.0          109.2           97.4          110.9  
     II          100.7           97.3           96.6          107.9           97.7          107.1  
     I           101.9           99.0           97.1          107.2           98.4          105.2  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6.                                                   November 4, 2010
r=revised                                                        Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics



Table 6. Nonfinancial corporate sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, unit profits,
and prices, seasonally adjusted
                                                     Real               Unit
              Output                       Hourly    hourly             non-      Total   Unit   Implicit
 Year         per all-                     compen-   compen-   Unit     labor     unit    pro-   price
 and          employee          Employee   sation    sation    labor    costs     cost    fits   deflator
 quarter      hour     Output   hours       (1)       (2)      costs     (6)      (7)     (8)      (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

2010 II       -1.6 r     2.7 r    4.3 r    -0.7 r     0.0 r     0.9 r   -1.7 r    0.1 r   21.7 r    2.6 r
     I         8.6      10.8      2.1      -0.9      -2.3      -8.7     -8.4     -8.6     64.6     -2.1  

2009 ANNUAL    1.6      -6.0     -7.5       2.2       2.6       0.6      2.7      1.2     -2.5      0.8  

2009 IV       12.5      12.9      0.3       1.4      -1.3      -9.9     -8.1     -9.4     38.2     -5.3  
     III       5.3      -0.4     -5.4       4.2       0.5      -1.0     -7.8     -3.0     21.2     -0.9  
     II        3.4      -5.8     -8.9       6.9       5.1       3.4     -2.6      1.6    -21.4     -0.9  
     I        -5.2     -15.6    -11.0      -3.5      -1.4       1.7      9.0      3.8     -4.2      3.0  

2008 ANNUAL    2.7       0.9     -1.7       3.5      -0.3       0.8      3.8      1.6    -14.2     -0.3  

2008 IV        0.4      -8.1     -8.4       3.0      13.5       2.7     11.1      5.1    -36.5     -0.4  
     III       5.9       0.3     -5.3       4.5      -1.8      -1.4      2.3     -0.3     86.7      6.5  
     II        1.7      -0.4     -2.1       1.9      -3.1       0.2      5.0      1.5     -9.2      0.4  
     I         0.2      -0.2     -0.4       2.8      -1.8       2.7      2.9      2.7    -35.0     -2.2  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

2010 II        6.1 r     6.4 r    0.3       1.0 r    -0.8      -4.8 r   -6.5 r   -5.3 r   35.3 r   -1.5  
     I         7.4       4.1     -3.1       2.9       0.4      -4.2     -6.7     -5.0     21.3     -2.4  

2009 ANNUAL    1.6      -6.0     -7.5       2.2       2.6       0.6      2.7      1.2     -2.5      0.8  

2009 IV        3.8      -2.7     -6.3       2.2       0.7      -1.6     -2.6     -1.9      6.0     -1.1  
     III       0.9      -7.6     -8.4       2.6       4.3       1.7      2.1      1.8    -12.7      0.2  
     II        1.0      -7.5     -8.4       2.6       3.7       1.6      4.8      2.5     -2.8      2.0  
     I         0.6      -6.2     -6.8       1.4       1.6       0.8      6.8      2.5      0.8      2.3  

2008 ANNUAL    2.7       0.9     -1.7       3.5      -0.3       0.8      3.8      1.6    -14.2     -0.3  

2008 IV        2.0      -2.2     -4.1       3.0       1.5       1.0      5.3      2.2     -8.5      1.0  
     III       4.6       2.5     -2.0       4.0      -1.2      -0.6      1.8      0.1      0.0      0.1  
     II        2.3       1.5     -0.8       3.5      -0.7       1.2      4.1      2.0    -24.3     -1.4  
     I         1.9       1.9      0.0       3.5      -0.7       1.6      4.1      2.3    -21.7     -0.8  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Indexes 2005=100

2010 II      111.5 r   104.9 r   94.0 r   113.4 r   102.0 r   101.7 r  109.9 r  104.0 r  106.2 r  104.3 r
     I       112.0     104.2     93.1     113.7     102.0     101.5    110.4    104.0    101.1    103.6  

2009 ANNUAL  106.4      99.7     93.7     112.5     102.4     105.8    116.0    108.6     83.4    105.4  

2009 IV      109.7     101.6     92.6     113.9     102.5     103.8    112.8    106.3     89.3    104.2  
     III     106.5      98.5     92.5     113.5     102.9     106.6    115.3    109.0     82.3    105.6  
     II      105.2      98.6     93.8     112.3     102.8     106.8    117.6    109.8     78.5    105.9  
     I       104.3     100.1     96.0     110.5     101.5     105.9    118.4    109.4     83.3    106.1  

2008 ANNUAL  104.7     106.1    101.3     110.1      99.8     105.1    112.9    107.3     85.5    104.5  

2008 IV      105.7     104.4     98.8     111.5     101.9     105.5    115.9    108.4     84.2    105.3  
     III     105.6     106.7    101.0     110.6      98.7     104.8    112.9    107.0     94.4    105.4  
     II      104.1     106.6    102.4     109.4      99.1     105.2    112.2    107.1     80.7    103.8  
     I       103.6     106.7    103.0     108.9      99.9     105.1    110.9    106.7     82.7    103.7  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6.                                                         November 4, 2010
r=revised                                                              Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics



SOURCES:  Output data are from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the 
Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce; the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor; and the Federal Reserve Board.  
Compensation and hours data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and 
the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

RELIABILITY:  Productivity and cost measures are regularly revised as 
more complete information becomes available.  The measures are first 
published within 40 days of the close of the reference period; revisions 
appear 30 days later, and second revisions after an additional 60 days.  
In the business sector, the third publication (second revision) of a 
quarterly index of output per hour of all persons has differed from the 
initial value by between -1.7 and +1.5 index points approximately 95 
percent of the time.  This interval is based on the performance of this 
measure between the fourth quarter of 1995 and the second quarter of 
2010.


			Footnotes, Tables 1-6


(1)  Wages and salaries of employees plus employers' contributions for 
social insurance and private benefit plans.  Except for nonfinancial 
corporations, where there are no self-employed, data also include an 
estimate of wages, salaries, and supplemental payments for the self-
employed.

(2)  The change for recent quarters is based on the Consumer Price Index 
for all urban consumers (CPI-U). The trend from 1978-2009 is based on the 
Consumer Price Index research series (CPI-U-RS).

(3)  Unit nonlabor payments include profits, consumption of fixed 
capital, taxes on production and imports less subsidies, net interest and 
miscellaneous payments, business current transfer payments, rental income 
of persons, and the current surplus of government enterprises.

(4)  Current dollar output divided by the output index.

(5)  Quarterly changes:  Percent change compounded at annual rate is 
calculated using index numbers to three decimal places.  Indexes 
published in the news release are rounded to one decimal place for 
convenience.  Annual changes:  Percent change is calculated using annual 
average indexes to three decimal places.

(6)  Unit nonlabor costs include consumption of fixed capital, taxes on 
production and imports less subsidies, net interest and miscellaneous 
payments, and business current transfer payments.

(7)  Total unit costs are the sum of unit labor and nonlabor costs.

(8)  Unit profits include corporate profits before tax with inventory 
valuation and capital consumption adjustments.


Last Modified Date: November 04, 2010