Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/lprhome.htm USDL 97-152 Historical, technical TRANSMISSION OF THIS information: (202) 606-5606 MATERIAL IS EMBARGOED Current data: (202) 606-7828 UNTIL 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: (202) 606-5902 WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1997. PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS First Quarter 1997 The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported preliminary productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all persons--for the first quarter of 1997. The seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the first quarter were: 2.1 percent in the business sector and 2.0 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors, first-quarter productivity gains were larger than those posted in the previous three quarters. In manufacturing, productivity changes in the first quarter were: 3.1 percent in manufacturing, 3.4 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 3.5 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 18 percent of U.S. business-sector employment, tend to vary more from quarter to quarter than data for the more aggregate business and nonfarm business sectors. First-quarter measures are summarized in table A and appear in detail in tables 1 through 5. The data sources and methods used in the preparation of the manufacturing series differ from those used in preparing the business and nonfarm business series, and these measures are not directly comparable. Output measures for business and nonfarm business are based on measures of gross domestic product prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Quarterly output measures for manufacturing reflect independent indexes of industrial production prepared by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See Technical Notes for further information on data sources. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Table A. Productivity and costs: Preliminary first-quarter 1997 measures (Seasonally adjusted annual rates) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Real Hourly hourly Unit Produc- compen- compen- labor Sector tivity Output Hours sation sation costs ------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from preceding quarter Business 2.1 6.8 4.5 4.5 2.0 2.3 Nonfarm business 2.0 6.8 4.7 4.7 2.3 2.7 Manufacturing 3.1 6.7 3.5 4.5 2.0 1.4 Durable 3.4 10.3 6.6 4.4 2.0 0.9 Nondurable 3.5 2.6 -0.8 4.0 1.6 0.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from same quarter a year ago Business 1.2 4.7 3.4 4.0 1.1 2.8 Nonfarm business 0.9 4.6 3.6 3.9 0.9 2.9 Manufacturing 3.8 5.6 1.7 4.4 1.4 0.5 Durable 4.2 7.3 3.0 4.4 1.4 0.2 Nondurable 3.7 3.4 -0.3 4.1 1.2 0.4 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Business From the fourth quarter of 1996 to the first quarter of 1997, business sector productivity increased at a 2.1 percent annual rate. Output and hours advanced 6.8 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. During the fourth quarter of 1996, output had increased 4.8 percent, and hours of all persons engaged in the sector increased 3.5 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates); productivity rose 1.2 percent (table 1). Hourly compensation increased 4.5 percent during the first quarter of 1997 and 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 1996. This measure includes wages and salaries, supplements, employer contributions to employee benefit plans, and taxes. Unit labor costs, which reflect changes in hourly compensation and productivity, increased at a 2.3 percent rate during the first quarter. This increase in unit labor costs was about the same as the 2.4 percent rise in the previous quarter. Real hourly compensation, which takes into account changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose at a 2.0 percent annual rate in the first quarter, after rising only 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 1996. The first-quarter increase in real hourly compensation was the largest recorded since a 5.1 percent increase was posted in the first quarter of 1992. The implicit price deflator for the business sector, which reflects changes in unit labor costs and unit nonlabor payments, increased 1.8 percent in the first quarter, somewhat more than the 1.1 percent increase during the fourth quarter of 1996. Nonfarm business Productivity rose 2.0 percent in the nonfarm business sector in the first quarter, as output increased 6.8 percent and hours of all persons went up 4.7 percent. During the fourth quarter of 1996, productivity had risen 1.1 percent in this sector, reflecting gains of 4.9 percent in output and 3.8 percent in hours (table 2). The first-quarter increase in productivity was the largest since the 2.8 percent gain in the fourth quarter of 1993. Hourly compensation increased at a 4.7 percent annual rate in the first quarter, compared with a 3.6 percent increase one quarter earlier. When the rise in the CPI-U was taken into account, real hourly compensation rose 2.3 percent; it had increased 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter. Unit labor costs rose 2.7 percent in the first quarter. The implicit price deflator for nonfarm business output rose 2.0 percent in the first quarter, compared with a 1.2 percent rise one quarter earlier. Manufacturing Productivity increased at a 3.1 percent seasonally-adjusted annual rate in manufacturing in the first quarter of 1997, as output rose 6.7 percent and hours of all persons increased 3.5 percent. In the fourth quarter of 1996, productivity and output rose 4.3 percent, and hours were unchanged (table 3). Although the durable and nondurable subsectors of manufacturing had similar growth in productivity in the first quarter, 3.4 and 3.5 percent, respectively, the underlying trends in output and hours were quite different. In durable goods manufacturing, output growth surged at a 10.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter, and hours of all persons rose 6.6 percent. Nondurable goods manufacturing output grew 2.6 percent in the first quarter, and hours of all persons dropped at a 0.8 percent annual rate (tables 4 and 5). Hourly compensation of all manufacturing workers rose 4.5 percent during the first quarter after having risen 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 1996. Real hourly compensation in the manufacturing sector rose 2.0 percent in the first quarter of 1997; it had dropped 0.6 percent during the previous quarter. Unit labor costs in manufacturing rose 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 1997 after having fallen 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 1996 and 1.2 percent in the third quarter. In the first quarter of 1997, unit labor costs of durable goods producers rose 0.9 percent, and those of nondurable goods producers rose 0.5 percent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table B. Nonfinancial corporations: Fourth-quarter 1996 productivity and cost measures (Seasonally adjusted annual rates) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Real Hourly hourly Unit Implicit Produc- compen- compen- labor Unit price Period tivity Output Hours sation sation costs profits deflator ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from preceding quarter 1996 IV 1.7 5.0 3.3 3.2 -0.1 1.5 -9.4 0.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from same quarter a year ago 1996 IV 2.1 4.7 2.6 3.5 0.3 1.3 2.8 0.8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fourth-quarter and annual measures for nonfinancial corporations Fourth-quarter and annual 1996 measures of productivity and costs also were announced today for the nonfinancial corporate sector (tables B, C, and 6). Output per all-employee hour rose 1.7 percent from the third to the fourth quarter of 1996 as output increased 5.0 percent and employee hours rose 3.3 percent. In the third quarter, productivity had risen 4.0 percent as output rose 6.1 percent and all-employee hours rose 2.0 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates). The sector includes all corporations doing business in the United States, except those classified as depository institutions, nondepository institutions, security and commodity brokers, insurance carriers, regulated investment offices, small business investment offices, and real estate investment trusts. Hourly compensation increased 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter, and real hourly compensation fell 0.1 percent. Unit labor costs rose 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter compared with a 0.1 percent rise one quarter earlier. Total unit costs rose 1.4 during the fourth quarter after having dropped 0.2 percent during the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, unit profits fell 9.4 percent. Unit profits had risen 2.0 percent during the third quarter of 1996. The implicit price deflator for nonfinancial corporate output edged up 0.1 percent during both the third and fourth quarters. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Table C. Nonfinancial corporations: Annual changes in productivity and related measures, 1987-1996 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Measure 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Productivity 1.7 1.7 -1.3 0.8 1.6 2.7 1.3 1.3 0.4 2.4 Output 4.9 5.3 1.6 1.0 -1.3 3.0 3.6 5.6 3.5 4.5 Hours 3.1 3.5 2.9 0.1 -2.9 0.3 2.2 4.2 3.0 2.1 Hourly compensation 3.7 4.0 2.6 5.3 4.7 4.7 2.2 1.8 2.6 3.5 Real hourly compensation 0.1 -0.1 -2.1 -0.1 0.5 1.7 -0.8 -0.7 -0.2 0.5 Unit labor costs 2.0 2.3 3.9 4.4 3.0 2.0 0.9 0.5 2.2 1.1 Unit nonlabor costs 0.0 2.5 7.3 3.0 3.9 -2.9 -0.3 0.0 1.2 -1.6 Total unit cost 1.5 2.3 4.8 4.0 3.2 0.7 0.6 0.4 1.9 0.4 Unit profits 9.1 8.1 -7.4 -1.5 -0.8 6.5 13.2 13.2 0.5 6.8 Implicit price deflator 2.2 2.9 3.5 3.5 2.9 1.2 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.1 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Productivity grew 2.4 percent in nonfinancial corporations in calendar year 1996, the largest increase since a gain of 2.7 percent was posted in 1992. In 1995, productivity had grown 0.4 percent. Output grew faster in 1996, 4.5 percent, than it had one year earlier, when it grew 3.5 percent. Hours of employees in nonfinancial corporations grew 2.1 percent during 1996. The 1996 increase in hourly compensation was 3.5 percent. Real hourly compensation rose 0.5 percent in 1996, the first annual increase posted since 1992, when it rose 1.7 percent. Total unit costs rose 0.4 percent in 1996, reflecting an increase of 1.1 percent in unit labor costs and a 1.6 percent drop in unit nonlabor costs. Unit profits for the year rose 6.8 percent; in 1995, they had risen only 0.5 percent. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Table D. Previous and revised productivity and related measures Quarterly percent change at seasonally adjusted annual rate -------------------------------------------------------------------- Real Hourly hourly Unit Produc- compen- compen- labor Sector tivity Output Hours sation sation costs -------------------------------------------------------------------- Fourth quarter 1996 Business: Previous 1.2 4.8 3.6 3.7 0.4 2.5 Current 1.2 4.8 3.5 3.7 0.3 2.4 Nonfarm business: Previous 1.1 5.0 3.9 3.6 0.2 2.5 Current 1.1 4.9 3.8 3.6 0.2 2.5 Manufacturing: Previous 4.4 4.5 0.1 2.8 -0.6 -1.6 Current 4.3 4.3 0.0 2.7 -0.6 -1.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------- REVISED MEASURES Current and previous measures for the fourth quarter of 1996 for the business, nonfarm business, and manufacturing sectors are compared in table D. Some of the quarterly movements differ slightly from those reported on March 11, based on information then available. Measures of productivity, output, and unit labor costs for the business and nonfarm business sectors and nonfinancial corporations have been revised back to 1959 to reflect the historical revisions of the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) announced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, on April 30. These revisions were small. There were much larger revisions to data on corporate profits for nonfinancial corporations. However, these were largely offset by revisions to nonlabor costs. Appendix table 1 shows the annual indexes of productivity and costs for nonfinancial corporations for the years 1959-1994. Next release date The next release of Productivity and Costs is scheduled for 10:00 AM EDT, Wednesday, June 18, 1997. First-quarter measures for nonfinancial corporations and revised measures for business, nonfarm business, and manufacturing will be released at that time. This release will incorporate the annual benchmark revision to the BLS establishment survey data and revised seasonal factors. If available at that time, revised historical output data for the business and nonfarm business sectors for the years 1947- 58 will be included. TECHNICAL NOTES Labor Hours: The primary source of hours and employment data is the BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, which provides monthly survey data on total employment and average weekly paid hours of production and non- supervisory workers in nonagricultural establishments. Jobs rather than persons are counted. Weekly paid hours are adjusted to hours at work using the BLS Hours at Work survey, conducted for this purpose. Data from the BLS Current Population Survey (CPS) are used for farm labor; in the nonfarm sector, the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the Department of Com- merce and the CPS are used to measure labor input for government enterprises, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. Output: Business sector output is an annual-weighted index constructed after excluding from gross domestic product (GDP) the following outputs: General government, nonprofit institutions, paid employees of private households, and the rental value of owner-occupied dwellings. Corresponding exclusions also are made in labor inputs. Business output accounted for about 76 percent of the value of GDP in 1992. Nonfarm business, which also excludes farming, accounted for about 75 percent of GDP in 1992. Annual manufacturing indexes are constructed by deflating current-dollar industry value of production data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census with deflators from the BEA. 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 2-digit SIC industries: Primary metal industries; fabricated metal products; non- electrical machinery; industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment; electronic and other electrical equipment; transportation equipment; instruments; lumber and lumber products; furniture and fixtures; stone, clay, and glass and concrete products; and miscellaneous manufactures. Nondurables include: Food and kindred products, tobacco products, textile mill products, apparel products, paper and allied products, printing and publishing, chemicals and chemical products, petroleum refining and related industries, rubber and plastic products, and leather and leather products. Nonfinancial corporate output is an annual-weighted index constructed by excluding from GDP the following outputs: General government; nonprofit institutions; employees of private households; the rental value of owner-oc- cupied dwellings; unincorporated business; and those corporations which are depository institutions, nondepository institutions, security and commodity brokers, insurance carriers, regulated investment offices, small business investment offices, and real estate investment trusts. Nonfinancial corporations accounted for about 52 percent of the value of GDP in 1992. 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. Information in this release will be made available to sensory-impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. Table 1. Business sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and prices, seasonally adjusted Real Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit Unit non- Implicit and hour of of all tion per tion per labor labor pay- price quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs ments (3) deflator (4) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indexes 1992=100 1995 I 100.4 108.8 108.4 106.2 98.7 105.8 107.4 106.4 II 100.8 109.0 108.2 107.3 99.0 106.5 107.8 r107.0 III r101.1 110.3 109.0 108.3 99.3 r107.1 108.3 107.5 IV 101.0 110.4 109.3 109.4 99.8 r108.4 106.7 107.8 ANNUAL 100.8 109.6 108.8 107.8 99.2 106.9 107.6 r107.2 1996 I 101.5 111.2 109.6 110.3 99.7 r108.7 r107.3 108.2 II 101.8 112.6 110.6 111.4 99.9 r109.5 r107.6 108.8 III 101.9 113.2 111.1 112.5 100.2 110.4 107.0 109.2 IV 102.2 r114.5 112.1 113.5 100.3 r111.1 106.7 109.5 ANNUAL 101.8 112.9 110.9 111.8 100.0 109.9 107.2 108.9 1997 I 102.7 116.4 113.3 114.7 100.8 111.7 107.0 110.0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5) 1995 I -2.6 r0.4 3.0 2.8 0.1 r5.5 -1.4 3.0 II 1.4 0.7 -0.7 4.1 0.9 2.6 1.3 r2.1 III 1.4 r4.7 3.3 3.6 1.5 r2.2 1.8 2.0 IV -0.6 0.5 1.1 4.3 1.8 5.0 -5.6 1.0 ANNUAL 0.1 2.5 2.4 3.1 0.3 3.0 r1.1 2.3 1996 I 2.1 3.0 0.8 3.2 -0.1 r1.0 2.4 1.5 II 1.2 5.0 3.8 4.3 0.9 3.1 1.1 2.4 III 0.3 2.2 1.9 3.8 1.1 3.4 -2.3 1.3 IV 1.2 4.8 r3.5 3.7 r0.3 r2.4 r-1.2 1.1 ANNUAL 1.0 3.0 2.0 3.8 0.8 2.8 -0.3 1.6 1997 I 2.1 6.8 4.5 4.5 2.0 2.3 1.0 1.8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year 1995 I 0.0 r3.7 3.8 2.1 -0.7 r2.2 2.8 2.4 II 0.2 2.2 2.0 3.0 -0.1 2.8 2.0 2.5 III 0.1 2.4 2.3 3.4 0.7 3.3 0.6 2.3 IV -0.1 1.6 1.7 3.7 1.1 3.8 -1.0 2.0 ANNUAL 0.1 2.5 2.4 3.1 0.3 3.0 r1.1 2.3 1996 I 1.1 2.2 1.1 3.8 1.0 2.7 -0.1 1.7 II 1.0 3.3 2.2 3.8 1.0 2.8 -0.1 1.7 III r0.8 2.7 1.9 3.9 0.9 3.1 r-1.2 1.6 IV 1.2 3.7 2.5 3.7 0.5 2.5 0.0 1.6 ANNUAL 1.0 3.0 2.0 3.8 0.8 2.8 -0.3 1.6 1997 I 1.2 4.7 3.4 4.0 1.1 2.8 -0.4 1.7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes following Table 6. May 7, 1997 r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Table 2. Nonfarm business sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and prices, seasonally adjusted Real Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit Unit non- Implicit and hour of of all tion per tion per labor labor pay- price quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs ments (3) deflator (4) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indexes 1992=100 1995 I 100.5 109.0 108.4 106.2 98.7 105.6 108.2 106.5 II 100.9 109.2 108.3 107.2 98.9 106.3 108.5 107.1 III 101.3 110.6 109.1 108.2 99.3 106.8 108.9 107.5 IV r101.0 110.7 109.5 109.3 99.6 108.1 107.1 107.8 ANNUAL 100.9 109.9 108.9 107.7 99.1 106.7 108.2 107.2 1996 I 101.5 111.4 109.8 110.2 99.6 108.5 107.4 108.1 II 101.7 r112.7 110.9 111.3 99.8 109.4 107.3 108.7 III 101.7 113.3 111.4 112.2 99.9 110.3 r106.6 109.0 IV r101.9 r114.6 112.5 113.2 100.0 111.0 106.3 109.3 ANNUAL 101.6 113.0 111.2 111.6 99.8 109.8 106.9 108.8 1997 I 102.5 116.5 113.8 114.5 100.6 111.7 106.6 109.9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5) 1995 I r-2.2 0.6 2.9 2.9 0.2 5.3 r-0.8 3.0 II 1.5 0.9 -0.6 4.0 0.9 2.5 1.1 2.0 III r1.7 5.0 3.2 3.7 1.5 1.9 1.4 1.7 IV -1.2 r0.4 1.5 4.0 1.5 5.2 -6.4 0.9 ANNUAL 0.3 2.7 2.4 3.2 0.3 2.9 1.1 2.2 1996 I 1.9 2.7 0.8 3.4 0.1 1.5 1.1 1.4 II 0.6 4.8 4.1 3.9 0.5 3.3 -0.1 2.1 III 0.0 1.9 1.9 3.3 0.7 3.3 -2.5 1.2 IV 1.1 r4.9 r3.8 3.6 0.2 2.5 r-1.1 1.2 ANNUAL 0.7 2.9 2.2 3.6 0.7 2.9 -1.1 1.5 1997 I 2.0 6.8 4.7 4.7 2.3 2.7 0.9 2.0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year 1995 I 0.2 3.9 3.7 2.3 -0.5 2.1 3.2 2.5 II 0.3 2.4 2.1 3.0 0.0 2.7 2.1 2.5 III 0.3 2.6 2.3 3.5 0.8 3.1 0.4 r2.2 IV -0.1 1.7 1.8 3.7 1.0 3.7 -1.2 1.9 ANNUAL 0.3 2.7 2.4 3.2 0.3 2.9 1.1 2.2 1996 I 1.0 2.2 1.2 3.8 1.0 2.8 -0.8 1.5 II 0.8 3.2 2.4 3.8 0.9 3.0 -1.1 1.5 III 0.3 2.4 2.1 3.7 0.7 3.3 -2.0 1.4 IV 0.9 3.6 2.7 3.6 0.4 r2.6 -0.7 1.5 ANNUAL 0.7 2.9 2.2 3.6 0.7 2.9 -1.1 1.5 1997 I 0.9 4.6 3.6 3.9 0.9 2.9 -0.7 1.6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes following Table 6. May 7, 1997 r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Table 3. Manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs, seasonally adjusted Real Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit and hour of of all tion per tion per labor quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indexes 1992=100 1995 I 107.2 112.9 105.3 107.2 99.7 100.0 II 108.2 112.6 104.0 108.4 100.0 100.2 III 109.6 113.3 103.4 109.7 100.7 100.1 IV 110.5 113.6 102.8 110.9 101.1 100.4 ANNUAL 108.9 113.1 103.9 109.0 100.4 100.2 1996 I 111.6 113.9 102.0 111.0 100.3 99.4 II 112.2 115.6 103.0 112.5 100.9 100.3 III 113.8 117.0 102.8 113.8 101.4 100.0 IV r115.0 118.3 102.8 114.6 101.3 99.6 ANNUAL 113.1 116.2 102.8 112.8 100.9 99.8 1997 I 115.9 120.2 103.7 115.8 101.8 99.9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5) 1995 I 2.8 4.2 1.4 3.3 0.5 0.5 II 3.6 -1.4 -4.7 4.3 1.2 0.7 III 5.3 2.6 -2.5 5.1 2.9 -0.2 IV 3.2 1.0 -2.2 4.2 1.7 0.9 ANNUAL 3.4 3.5 0.1 3.7 0.9 0.3 1996 I 4.3 1.1 -3.0 0.4 -2.9 -3.7 II 2.1 6.3 4.1 5.8 2.3 3.6 III 5.9 5.0 -0.9 4.6 1.9 -1.2 IV r4.3 r4.3 r0.0 r2.7 -0.6 r-1.5 ANNUAL r3.8 r2.7 r-1.1 3.5 0.5 -0.3 1997 I 3.1 6.7 3.5 4.5 2.0 1.4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year 1995 I 3.1 6.0 2.8 2.7 -0.2 -0.4 II 2.7 3.6 0.8 3.5 0.4 0.8 III 3.6 3.0 -0.6 4.0 1.3 0.3 IV 3.7 1.6 -2.0 4.2 1.5 0.5 ANNUAL 3.4 3.5 0.1 3.7 0.9 0.3 1996 I 4.1 0.8 -3.1 3.5 0.7 -0.6 II 3.7 2.7 -1.0 3.8 1.0 0.1 III 3.9 3.3 -0.5 3.7 0.7 -0.1 IV r4.1 r4.1 0.0 3.4 0.2 r-0.7 ANNUAL r3.8 r2.7 r-1.1 3.5 0.5 -0.3 1997 I 3.8 5.6 1.7 4.4 1.4 0.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes following Table 6. May 7, 1997 r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Table 4. Durable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs, seasonally adjusted Real Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit and hour of of all tion per tion per labor quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indexes 1992=100 1995 I 110.4 118.1 107.0 106.9 99.4 96.9 II 111.0 117.8 106.1 108.0 99.6 97.3 III 112.9 119.4 105.8 109.4 100.4 96.9 IV 114.1 120.4 105.6 110.4 100.7 96.8 ANNUAL 112.1 118.9 106.1 108.6 100.0 96.9 1996 I 115.7 121.5 105.0 109.7 99.3 94.8 II 116.7 124.6 106.8 111.6 100.1 95.6 III 118.6 126.4 106.5 112.8 100.5 95.1 IV r119.5 r127.3 106.5 113.4 100.2 94.8 ANNUAL 117.5 r124.9 106.3 111.7 99.9 95.1 1997 I 120.6 130.4 108.2 114.6 100.7 95.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5) 1995 I 5.0 7.1 2.0 3.2 0.4 -1.7 II 2.3 -1.1 -3.3 3.9 0.8 1.6 III 7.0 5.5 -1.4 5.4 3.2 -1.5 IV 4.2 3.5 -0.7 3.6 1.1 -0.6 ANNUAL 4.4 5.5 1.1 3.6 0.8 -0.7 1996 I 5.8 3.7 -2.0 -2.3 -5.5 -7.7 II 3.3 10.3 6.8 6.8 3.3 3.3 III 7.0 6.0 -0.9 4.6 1.9 -2.2 IV r3.0 r2.8 r-0.2 r1.9 r-1.4 r-1.1 ANNUAL 4.9 r5.0 0.2 2.8 -0.1 -1.9 1997 I 3.4 10.3 6.6 4.4 2.0 0.9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year 1995 I 4.2 8.0 3.7 2.6 -0.3 -1.5 II 3.6 5.6 1.9 3.3 0.3 -0.3 III 4.5 5.0 0.5 3.9 1.2 -0.6 IV 4.6 3.7 -0.9 4.0 1.4 -0.6 ANNUAL 4.4 5.5 1.1 3.6 0.8 -0.7 1996 I 4.8 2.9 -1.9 2.6 -0.1 -2.1 II 5.1 5.7 0.6 3.3 0.5 -1.7 III 5.1 5.8 0.7 3.1 0.1 -1.9 IV r4.8 r5.7 0.9 2.7 -0.5 r-2.0 ANNUAL 4.9 r5.0 0.2 2.8 -0.1 -1.9 1997 I 4.2 7.3 3.0 4.4 1.4 0.2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes following Table 6. May 7, 1997 r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Table 5. Nondurable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs, seasonally adjusted Real Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit and hour of of all tion per tion per labor quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indexes 1992=100 1995 I 104.4 107.6 103.0 107.3 99.8 102.8 II 105.8 107.1 101.3 108.6 100.1 102.6 III 106.7 106.9 100.2 109.7 100.6 102.8 IV 107.4 106.4 99.1 110.9 101.2 103.3 ANNUAL 106.1 107.0 100.9 109.2 100.5 102.9 1996 I 108.1 105.9 98.0 112.2 101.5 103.8 II 108.4 106.3 98.1 113.2 101.6 104.5 III 109.6 107.3 97.9 114.6 102.1 104.5 IV r111.1 r108.8 r97.9 115.7 102.3 104.1 ANNUAL 109.2 107.1 98.1 113.8 101.8 104.2 1997 I 112.1 109.5 97.7 116.9 102.7 104.3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5) 1995 I 0.3 0.8 0.5 3.4 0.6 3.1 II 5.3 -1.7 -6.7 4.6 1.4 -0.7 III 3.6 -0.7 -4.1 4.2 2.0 0.6 IV 2.5 -1.9 -4.3 4.7 2.2 2.2 ANNUAL 2.5 1.2 -1.3 3.7 0.8 1.1 1996 I 2.7 -1.9 -4.4 4.7 1.3 2.0 II 1.3 1.6 0.3 3.7 0.3 2.4 III 4.6 3.7 -0.9 4.7 2.0 0.1 IV r5.6 r5.9 r0.3 r4.1 0.8 r-1.4 ANNUAL 3.0 0.1 -2.8 4.3 1.3 1.3 1997 I 3.5 2.6 -0.8 4.0 1.6 0.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year 1995 I 2.0 3.6 1.6 2.7 -0.2 0.6 II 1.8 1.2 -0.6 3.5 0.5 1.7 III 2.9 0.7 -2.1 3.8 1.1 0.9 IV 2.9 -0.9 -3.7 4.2 1.6 1.3 ANNUAL 2.5 1.2 -1.3 3.7 0.8 1.1 1996 I 3.5 -1.5 -4.9 4.5 1.7 1.0 II 2.5 -0.7 -3.1 4.3 1.4 1.8 III 2.7 0.3 -2.3 4.4 1.4 1.7 IV r3.5 2.3 -1.2 4.3 1.1 r0.8 ANNUAL 3.0 0.1 -2.8 4.3 1.3 1.3 1997 I 3.7 3.4 -0.3 4.1 1.2 0.4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes following Table 6. May 7, 1997 r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Table 6. Nonfinancial corporations: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, unit profits, and prices, seasonally adjusted Output Hourly Real Unit Total Unit Implicit Year per all- compen- hourly Unit non- unit pro- price and employee Employee sation compen- labor labor costs fits deflator quarter hour Output hours (1) sation(2) costs costs(6) (7) (8) (4) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indexes 1992=100 1994 I 102.7 107.4 104.5 103.8 99.2 101.0 r102.0 101.3 r118.0 102.8 II 102.6 108.9 106.1 103.8 98.6 101.2 r98.5 100.5 r129.4 103.1 III 102.4 109.7 107.0 104.1 98.0 101.6 99.3 101.0 r130.7 103.7 IV 102.7 r111.4 108.5 104.7 98.0 101.9 r98.7 r101.1 r134.0 r104.1 ANNUAL 102.6 109.3 106.6 104.1 98.5 101.4 99.6 r101.0 r128.1 103.4 1995 I 101.8 r111.3 109.4 105.3 97.9 103.4 r100.5 r102.7 r124.9 104.7 II 102.4 r112.0 109.4 106.3 98.0 103.8 r101.6 r103.2 r124.0 105.1 III r103.6 114.0 110.0 107.3 98.4 103.5 r100.4 r102.7 r133.8 105.5 IV 104.3 115.2 110.5 108.3 98.8 103.9 r100.7 r103.1 r132.1 105.7 ANNUAL r103.0 r113.1 109.8 106.8 98.3 r103.7 r100.8 r102.9 r128.8 r105.3 1996 I 104.6 115.8 110.7 109.0 98.6 104.3 r100.0 r103.2 r136.2 106.1 II 105.0 117.4 111.9 110.1 98.7 104.9 r99.0 r103.3 r138.5 106.5 III 106.0 119.2 112.4 111.2 99.1 104.9 r98.8 r103.3 r139.2 r106.6 IV 106.5 120.6 113.3 112.1 99.0 105.3 99.0 103.7 135.9 106.6 ANNUAL 105.5 118.3 112.1 110.6 98.9 104.8 99.2 103.4 137.5 106.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5) 1994 I 1.0 5.0 4.0 3.6 1.6 2.6 r12.4 5.1 r-19.1 2.2 II -0.5 5.7 6.3 0.0 -2.3 0.5 r-12.9 r-3.1 r44.6 1.2 III -0.6 2.8 3.5 1.1 -2.6 1.7 r3.1 r2.1 r4.0 2.3 IV 1.1 r6.6 5.5 2.4 -0.1 r1.3 r-2.3 r0.4 r10.4 r1.5 ANNUAL 1.3 5.6 4.2 1.8 -0.7 0.5 r0.0 r0.4 r13.2 1.7 1995 I -3.4 r-0.3 3.3 2.4 -0.4 6.0 r7.5 r6.4 r-24.4 2.4 II 2.3 2.4 0.2 3.8 0.6 1.5 r4.4 r2.2 r-2.9 r1.7 III 4.9 7.2 2.2 3.7 1.6 -1.1 r-4.5 r-2.0 r35.7 1.6 IV r2.5 r4.4 1.8 3.9 1.4 r1.4 r1.3 1.4 r-4.9 r0.6 ANNUAL 0.4 3.5 3.0 2.6 -0.2 2.2 r1.2 r1.9 r0.5 1.8 1996 I 1.3 2.2 0.9 2.7 -0.6 r1.4 r-2.9 r0.3 r12.9 1.7 II 1.5 5.6 4.1 3.9 0.5 r2.3 r-3.9 r0.7 r7.1 r1.4 III r4.0 r6.1 2.0 4.1 1.4 r0.1 r-1.0 r-0.2 r2.0 r0.1 IV 1.7 5.0 3.3 3.2 -0.1 1.5 1.2 1.4 -9.4 0.1 ANNUAL 2.4 4.5 2.1 3.5 0.5 1.1 -1.6 0.4 6.8 1.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year 1994 I 2.6 6.1 3.4 2.3 -0.2 -0.3 1.5 0.2 r14.7 1.5 II 1.7 r5.9 4.1 1.9 -0.5 0.2 r-1.1 r-0.1 r16.9 1.6 III 1.0 r5.3 4.2 1.6 -1.2 0.7 r-0.2 r0.4 r14.6 1.9 IV 0.2 r5.0 4.8 1.8 -0.9 1.5 r-0.4 r1.1 r7.6 1.8 ANNUAL 1.3 5.6 4.2 1.8 -0.7 0.5 r0.0 r0.4 r13.2 1.7 1995 I -0.9 3.7 4.6 1.5 -1.4 2.4 r-1.5 r1.4 r5.8 1.8 II -0.2 2.9 3.1 2.4 -0.6 2.6 r3.1 r2.8 r-4.2 r2.0 III 1.2 r3.9 2.8 3.1 0.4 1.9 r1.2 r1.7 r2.4 1.8 IV 1.5 3.4 1.9 3.5 0.8 1.9 r2.1 r2.0 r-1.4 1.6 ANNUAL 0.4 3.5 3.0 2.6 -0.2 2.2 r1.2 r1.9 r0.5 1.8 1996 I 2.7 4.0 1.3 3.5 0.8 0.8 r-0.5 r0.5 r9.0 1.4 II 2.5 4.8 2.2 3.6 0.7 r1.0 -2.5 0.1 r11.7 r1.3 III 2.3 r4.6 2.2 3.7 0.7 1.3 r-1.7 0.6 r4.1 1.0 IV 2.1 4.7 2.6 3.5 0.3 1.3 -1.7 0.6 2.8 0.8 ANNUAL 2.4 4.5 2.1 3.5 0.5 1.1 -1.6 0.4 6.8 1.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes following Table 6. May 7, 1997 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 30 days after the close of the reference period; revisions appear 30 days later, and second revisions after an additional 60 days. 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) Compensation per hour adjusted for changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. (3) Unit nonlabor payments include profits, capital consumption allowances, interest, rental income of persons, and indirect taxes. (4) Current dollar output divided by the output index. (5) Quarterly changes: Percent change compounded at annual rate from the original data rather than index numbers. Annual changes: Percent change between annual average levels. (6) Unit nonlabor costs include capital consumption allowances, interest, rental income of persons, and indirect taxes. For nonfinancial corporations, rental income of persons is zero by definition. (7) Total unit costs are the sum of unit labor and nonlabor costs. (8) Unit profits include corporate profits with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments. Appendix table 1. Nonfinancial corporations: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, unit profits, and prices Indexes 1992=100 Output Hourly Real Unit Total Unit Implicit per all- compen- hourly Unit non- unit pro- price employee Employee sation compen- labor labor costs fits deflator Year hour Output hours (1) sation(2) costs costs(6) (7) (8) (4) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1959 53.1 27.9 52.5 14.9 71.7 28.0 24.5 27.1 52.4 29.4 1960 54.1 28.8 53.3 15.5 73.4 28.6 25.3 27.8 47.7 29.6 1961 55.8 29.4 52.8 16.0 75.1 28.7 25.8 27.9 47.9 29.7 1962 58.2 31.9 54.8 16.6 77.2 28.6 25.4 27.7 52.0 29.9 1963 60.2 33.7 56.1 17.1 78.6 28.5 25.3 27.7 55.0 30.1 1964 62.6 36.1 57.7 17.9 81.0 28.6 25.2 27.7 57.3 30.4 1965 64.1 39.1 61.0 18.4 82.0 28.7 25.1 27.8 61.8 30.9 1966 65.0 41.8 64.3 19.4 84.0 29.8 25.1 28.6 61.5 31.6 1967 65.9 42.9 65.0 20.5 86.0 31.0 26.6 29.9 57.6 32.4 1968 68.2 45.6 66.9 22.0 88.7 32.3 28.4 31.3 57.5 33.6 1969 68.2 47.4 69.5 23.5 89.9 34.5 30.6 33.5 51.7 35.1 1970 68.5 47.0 68.5 25.2 91.0 36.7 34.3 36.1 42.0 36.6 1971 71.4 48.9 68.4 26.8 92.8 37.5 36.0 37.1 47.6 38.0 1972 73.3 52.7 71.9 28.3 95.1 38.6 35.9 37.9 51.6 39.2 1973 74.0 55.8 75.4 30.6 96.6 41.3 37.5 40.3 52.8 41.5 1974 72.2 54.8 75.8 33.5 95.2 46.3 43.3 45.5 46.2 45.6 1975 75.1 53.9 71.8 36.8 96.0 49.0 48.9 49.0 61.0 50.1 1976 77.7 58.3 75.0 39.9 98.5 51.4 48.8 50.7 68.7 52.4 1977 79.7 62.6 78.5 43.1 99.7 54.0 50.4 53.1 75.4 55.1 1978 80.4 66.7 83.0 46.8 100.7 58.2 53.8 57.1 78.0 59.0 1979 79.0 68.2 86.3 51.1 98.8 64.7 59.8 63.4 73.0 64.3 1980 80.0 68.3 85.4 56.4 96.1 70.5 69.2 70.2 64.4 69.7 1981 82.5 71.5 86.6 61.6 95.1 74.7 79.0 75.8 75.9 75.8 1982 83.8 70.5 84.1 65.9 95.9 78.7 85.4 80.4 68.2 79.3 1983 86.5 73.7 85.3 68.4 96.4 79.1 85.8 80.9 83.3 81.1 1984 89.1 81.0 90.8 71.3 96.3 80.0 84.3 81.1 99.9 82.8 1985 90.5 84.2 93.0 74.5 97.2 82.3 85.2 83.1 97.8 84.4 1986 93.1 86.9 93.4 78.2 100.1 84.0 87.5 84.9 88.0 85.2 1987 94.7 91.1 96.3 81.2 100.2 85.7 87.5 86.2 95.9 87.1 1988 96.3 95.9 99.7 84.4 100.1 87.7 89.7 88.2 103.8 89.6 1989 95.0 97.5 102.5 86.6 98.0 91.1 96.3 92.5 96.0 92.8 1990 95.8 98.4 102.7 91.2 97.9 95.2 99.1 96.2 94.6 96.1 1991 97.4 97.1 99.7 95.5 98.4 98.0 103.0 99.3 93.9 98.8 1992 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1993 101.3 103.6 102.2 102.2 99.2 100.9 99.7 100.6 113.2 101.7 1994 102.6 109.3 106.6 104.1 98.5 101.4 99.6 101.0 128.1 103.4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes following Table 6. May 7, 1997 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics