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Nonfarm business labor productivity up 1.5 percent since third quarter 2018

December 12, 2019

From the third quarter of 2018 to the third quarter of 2019, nonfarm business labor productivity increased 1.5 percent, reflecting a 2.3-percent increase in output and a 0.9-percent increase in hours worked.

12-month percent change in nonfarm business labor productivity and related measures, third quarter 2019
Measure 12-month percent change

Labor productivity

1.5%

Output

2.3

Hours worked

0.9

Hourly compensation

3.7

Real hourly compensation

1.9

Unit labor costs

2.2

Hourly compensation increased 3.7 percent, and real hourly compensation increased 1.9 percent, over this period, while unit labor costs increased 2.2 percent over the last four quarters.

These data are from the Productivity program. To learn more, see Productivity and Costs — Third Quarter 2019, Revised. Also see Charts related to the latest "Productivity and Costs" news release. 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. BLS calculates unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Nonfarm business labor productivity up 1.5 percent since third quarter 2018 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/nonfarm-business-labor-productivity-up-1-point-5-percent-since-third-quarter-2018.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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