An official website of the United States government

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.

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.

Bureau of Labor Statistics > Productivity > Home

Productivity Home Page

The Office of Productivity and Technology (OPT) measures how efficiently the U.S. converts inputs into the outputs of goods and services. Measures of labor productivity compare the growth in output to the growth in hours worked and measures of total factor productivity (TFP), also known as multifactor productivity (MFP), compare growth in output to the growth in a combination of inputs that include labor, capital, energy, materials, and purchased services.

Notices

New Experimental Measures for Water, Sewage, and Other Systems Read More »
Revisions to Productivity and Costs for Detailed Industries - April 2023 Read More »
Revised Total Factor Productivity for Major Industries - 2021 Read More »

Videos

Graphics

Bar chart of labor productivity average annual percent changes in the non farm business sector for business cycles since 1947. Chart data are included in the linked page below.

Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Long-term labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector since 1947.

State map of labor productivity, 1-year percent change. Chart data are included in the linked table below.

Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Labor Productivity by State, Percent Change.

Stacked bar graph of the contribution of sources that total labor productivity, total factor productivity, labor composition, capital intensity. Average annual percent changem in in private business sector business cycles. Chart data are included in the linked table below.

Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Contributions to Labor Productivity Growth, Private Nonfarm Business Sector, Selected Time Periods.

Line graph of labor productivity and real hourly compenstation since 1973, commonly referred to as the wage gap. In log index values with base year 1973. Chart data are included in the linked table below.

Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Labor Productivity and Real Hourly Compensation, Nonfarm Business Sector since 1973.

Line graph of detailed industries labor productivity indexes of food and beverage store industries: Beer and wine liquor stores (NAICS 4453), Food and beverage stores (NAICS 445), Grocery stores (NAICS 4451), and Specialty food stores (NAICS 4452). Chart data are included in the linked table below.

Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Detailed Industries Help Tell the Story, Indexes of Productivity Within Food and Beverage Stores.

1 2 3 4 5

Latest Numbers

NONFARM BUSINESS SECTOR:

Labor productivity (output per hour) -2.1%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

Hourly compensation +2.1%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

Unit labor costs +4.2%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

Real value-added output +0.5%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

Hours worked +2.6%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

MANUFACTURING SECTOR:

Labor productivity (output per hour) -2.5%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

Hourly compensation +0.5%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

Unit labor costs +3.1%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

Real sectoral output -1.0%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

Hours worked +1.6%(r) in 1st Qtr of 2023

News Releases

Productivity decreases 2.1% in Q1 2023; unit labor costs increase 4.2% (annual rates)

06/01/2023

Productivity decreased 2.1 percent in the nonfarm business sector in the first quarter of 2023; unit labor costs increased 4.2 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates). In manufacturing, productivity decreased 2.5 percent and unit labor costs increased 3.1 percent.
HTML | PDF | RSS | Charts

Productivity falls in 30 of 46 wholesale and retail trade industries in 2022

05/25/2023

Retail trade productivity decreased 0.4 percent in 2022, the first decline since 2008. Wholesale trade productivity fell 1.2 percent with hours worked growing at a higher rate than output. Unit labor costs grew in both retail trade and wholesale trade.
HTML | PDF | RSS | Charts

Productivity increases in 24 of 30 selected service-providing industries in 2021

06/30/2022

Labor productivity rose in 24 of 30 selected service-providing industries in 2021. Output increased in 27 industries in 2021 while hours worked increased in 18 industries.
HTML | PDF | RSS | Charts

Productivity falls in 37 states and the District of Columbia in 2022

05/25/2023

Labor productivity declined in 37 states and the District of Columbia in 2022. Output increased in 43 states and the District and hours worked increased in 48 states and the District.
HTML | PDF | RSS | Charts

Productivity falls in 69 of 91 manufacturing and mining industries in 2022

04/27/2023

Labor productivity decreased in 66 of the 86 NAICS 4-digit manufacturing industries and in 3 of the 5 mining industries in 2022. Output rose in 48 of the 91 manufacturing and mining industries while hours worked rose in 79 industries. Forty-one industries increased both output and hours worked.
HTML | PDF | RSS | Charts

Total factor productivity decreases 1.2% in 2022, following a 4.0% increase in 2021

03/23/2023

Total factor productivity decreased 1.2 percent in the private nonfarm business sector in 2022 as output increased 2.3 percent and combined inputs increased 3.6 percent.
HTML | PDF | RSS

Total factor productivity increased in 15 out of 21 major industries in 2021

11/18/2022

In 2021, total factor productivity increased in 15 out of 21 major industries due to output growth outpacing combined inputs growth.
HTML | PDF | RSS | Charts

Total factor productivity fell in 60 of 86 4-digit NAICS manufacturing industries in 2020

08/25/2022

Total factor productivity fell in 60 of 86 4-digit NAICS manufacturing industries in 2020, up from 56 of those industries that fell in 2019. Among transportation industries, total factor productivity decreased in both air transportation and line-haul railroads.
HTML | PDF | RSS

Next Releases

Productivity and Costs: Second Quarter 2023, Preliminary is scheduled to be released on August 3, 2023 at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time.

The Economics Daily

Labor productivity rose at 1.1-percent annual rate from fourth quarter 2019 to first quarter 2023

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2023, as output increased 0.2 percent and hours worked increased 3.0 percent. From the fourth quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2023, labor productivity rose at a 1.1-percent annual rate. read more »

Monthly Labor Review

Alternative capital asset depreciation rates for U.S. capital and total factor productivity measures

The use of faster depreciation rates based on recent evidence from U.S. and Canadian studies resulted in lower estimates of net capital stocks and higher depreciation estimates in BEA’s fixed assets accounts, with minimal effects on total factor productivity growth rates in the BLS accounts. read more »

Spotlight on Statistics

Spotlight on State Productivity Statistics

This Spotlight looks at some short- and long-term state-level trends for labor productivity, output, and hours worked, and labor compensation. read more »

Beyond the Numbers

Checking out productivity in grocery stores

In this Beyond the Numbers article, we review the timeline for the development and implementation of new retail technologies in grocery stores. Then, check out the shifts in products and services offered by grocery stores over time. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, the article looks at the trends in employment and hours to show how all of these factors influenced labor productivity in grocery stores. read more »

1 2 3 4