Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Labor productivity up in 39 states and D.C. in 2021

May 31, 2022

In 2021, labor productivity in the private nonfarm sector rose in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Output increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Hours worked increased in all 50 states but declined in the District of Columbia. Washington and New Hampshire had the largest increases in labor productivity, 6.4 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively. Labor productivity also increased by more than 4.0 percent in the District of Columbia, California, and Tennessee.

Percent change in labor productivity, output, and hours worked, by state, 2020–2021
State Labor
productivity
Hours
worked
  Output  

Washington

6.4% 1.8% 8.3%

New Hampshire

5.2 3.9 9.3

District of Columbia

4.6 -1.0 3.5

California

4.2 5.3 9.8

Tennessee

4.2 5.5 9.8

Minnesota

3.7 2.8 6.6

Utah

3.1 4.6 7.8

Arizona

3.0 3.8 6.8

Mississippi

2.9 2.1 5.1

Illinois

2.8 3.0 5.8

Missouri

2.7 2.4 5.2

Pennsylvania

2.6 2.9 5.6

Vermont

2.6 2.5 5.1

Massachusetts

2.5 5.0 7.7

Ohio

2.5 2.5 5.1

Virginia

2.5 2.6 5.1

Oregon

2.4 3.9 6.4

Idaho

2.3 6.4 8.8

North Carolina

2.3 6.0 8.5

Indiana

2.2 5.8 8.1

Iowa

2.1 2.3 4.4

South Dakota

2.0 3.6 5.8

Michigan

1.9 5.4 7.3

New York

1.8 4.1 6.0

Montana

1.7 6.3 8.1

Alabama

1.5 3.4 4.9

Connecticut

1.5 3.5 5.0

Colorado

1.4 5.6 7.1

Kansas

1.4 1.8 3.2

Kentucky

1.4 4.2 5.6

Maryland

1.3 2.9 4.3

New Mexico

1.0 3.4 4.4

Louisiana

0.8 2.2 2.9

South Carolina

0.7 6.2 6.9

Texas

0.7 5.7 6.4

Maine

0.5 5.8 6.3

Nebraska

0.5 2.7 3.2

North Dakota

0.4 1.0 1.4

Wisconsin

0.2 4.4 4.6

West Virginia

0.1 4.2 4.3

Arkansas

0.0 5.7 5.7

Oklahoma

0.0 2.5 2.5

New Jersey

-0.1 6.2 6.0

Georgia

-0.4 7.1 6.7

Florida

-0.5 9.1 8.5

Delaware

-0.7 5.2 4.5

Hawaii

-0.8 7.7 6.9

Rhode Island

-0.8 7.4 6.5

Nevada

-1.0 9.8 8.7

Wyoming

-2.9 4.4 1.4

Alaska

-3.0 3.3 0.2

In 2021, Arkansas and Oklahoma (shown on the diagonal line in the chart) had no change in labor productivity, as increases in output were equal to increases in hours worked.

Labor productivity decreased in nine states (Alaska, Wyoming, Nevada, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey) as increases in hours worked were larger than increases in output.

Output growth exceeded 9.0 percent in three states: California and Tennessee (9.8 percent each) and New Hampshire (9.3 percent).

The states with the highest growth in hours worked in 2021 were Nevada (9.8 percent) and Florida (9.1 percent).

These data are from the Productivity program. Also see "Productivity by State – 2021" and more charts related to this news release. To learn more about labor productivity, see Productivity 101.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Labor productivity up in 39 states and D.C. in 2021 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/labor-productivity-up-in-39-states-and-d-c-in-2021.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

OF INTEREST
spotlight
Recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics


triangle