Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL 18-0153
8:30 a.m. (EST) Thursday, February 1, 2018
Technical information: (202) 691-5606 Productivity@bls.gov www.bls.gov/lpc
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
Fourth Quarter and Annual Averages 2017, Preliminary
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 0.1 percent during the
fourth quarter of 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as
output increased 3.2 percent and hours worked increased 3.3 percent. (All
quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual
rates.) From the fourth quarter of 2016 to the fourth quarter of 2017,
productivity increased 1.1 percent, reflecting a 3.2-percent increase in
output and a 2.1-percent increase in hours worked. (See tables A1 and 2.)
Annual average productivity increased 1.2 percent from 2016 to 2017. (See
table C1.)
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.
Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 2.0 percent in the
fourth quarter of 2017, due primarily to a 1.8-percent increase in hourly
compensation. Unit labor costs increased 1.3 percent over the last four
quarters. (See tables A1 and 2.)
BLS calculates 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 labor productivity increased 5.7 percent in the fourth
quarter of 2017, as output increased 7.3 percent and hours worked rose 1.5
percent. These were the largest quarterly increases in manufacturing sector
productivity and output since the second quarter of 2010, when output per hour
increased 7.0 percent and output jumped 10.7 percent. Productivity increased
6.7 percent in the durable goods manufacturing sector and 4.5 percent in the
nondurable goods sector in the fourth quarter of 2017. Over the last four
quarters, total manufacturing sector productivity increased 1.1 percent, as
output increased 2.7 percent and hours worked increased 1.6 percent. Unit
labor costs in manufacturing decreased 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter of
2017 and increased 1.1 percent from the same quarter a year ago. (See tables
A1 and 3.)
The concepts, sources, and methods used for the manufacturing output series
differ from those used in the business and nonfarm business output series;
these output measures are not directly comparable. See the Technical Notes for
a more detailed explanation.
Revised measures
Revised and previously published measures for the third quarter of 2017 are
shown in tables A2 and B1 and cover the following major sectors: nonfarm
business, business, manufacturing, and nonfinancial corporations.
In the third quarter of 2017, nonfarm business productivity was revised down
0.3 percentage point, to an increase of 2.7 percent. (See table B1.) Unit
labor costs in the nonfarm business sector decreased 0.1 percent in the third
quarter--rather than declining 0.2 percent as previously reported.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity was revised down 0.5 percentage
point, to a decrease of 4.9 percent. Manufacturing unit labor costs increased
5.4 percent, a 0.6 percentage point increase over the previously reported
figure.
In the nonfinancial corporate sector, productivity was revised down 0.4
percentage point in the third quarter of 2017, to a decrease of 0.4 percent.
This downward revision to productivity is due primarily to a 0.3-percentage
point downward revision to output. (See table A2.)
Annual averages
Table C1 presents annual average changes for the most recent 5 years for the
nonfarm business sector and the total manufacturing sector. Nonfarm business
sector productivity grew 1.2 percent in 2017, as output and hours increased
2.9 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. In 2016, productivity declined 0.1
percent. The average annual rate of nonfarm business sector productivity
growth from 2007 to 2017—corresponding to the current business cycle--is 1.2
percent, which is below the long-term rate from 1947 to 2017 of 2.1 percent.
Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 0.2 percent in 2017,
reflecting increases of 1.5 percent in hourly compensation and 1.2 percent in
productivity. Real hourly compensation, which takes into account changes in
consumer prices, decreased 0.7 percent in 2017.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity increased 0.7 percent in 2017, as
output increased 1.7 percent and hours worked increased 1.0 percent.
Manufacturing sector productivity has grown less than 1.0 percent in each of
the last 7 years. The average annual rate of manufacturing productivity growth
from 2007 to 2017 is 0.8 percent, well below the long-term rate from 1987 to
2017 of 2.7 percent. Unit labor costs increased 0.9 percent in 2017.
Quarterly and annual data for all sectors from 2015 to 2017 appear in tables
1-6. Full historical measures can be found on the Productivity and Costs home
page: www.bls.gov/lpc/#data.
______________
The revised Productivity and Costs news release for fourth-quarter 2017 is
scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. (EST).
==============================================================================
Data in this release do not reflect the annual benchmark revision of the BLS
Current Employment Statistics program data to be released February 2, 2018.
This benchmark will be incorporated in our next release on March 7, 2018.
==============================================================================
=========================================================================================================================
Table A1. Labor productivity growth and related measures - preliminary fourth-quarter 2017
(percent change from previous quarter at annual rate and from same quarter a year ago)
Labor Hours Hourly Real hourly Unit labor
Sector Percent change from: productivity Output worked compensation compensation costs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nonfarm business Previous quarter -0.1 3.2 3.3 1.8 -1.8 2.0
A year ago 1.1 3.2 2.1 2.4 0.3 1.3
Business Previous quarter -0.9 3.1 4.1 1.1 -2.5 2.0
A year ago 0.8 3.0 2.3 2.2 0.1 1.5
Manufacturing Previous quarter 5.7 7.3 1.5 1.8 -1.8 -3.7
A Year ago 1.1 2.7 1.6 2.2 0.0 1.1
Durable
manufacturing Previous quarter 6.7 8.2 1.4 2.6 -1.0 -3.8
A year ago 1.4 2.7 1.3 2.7 0.5 1.3
Nondurable
manufacturing Previous quarter 4.5 6.4 1.8 0.3 -3.3 -4.0
A year ago 0.5 2.6 2.1 1.3 -0.8 0.8
=========================================================================================================================
Table A2. Labor productivity growth and related measures – revised and previously published third-quarter 2017
(percent change from previous quarter at annual rate)
Labor Hours Hourly Real hourly Unit labor
Sector productivity Output worked compensation compensation costs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nonfinancial Revised -0.4 1.0 1.3 2.4 0.4 2.8
corporate Previously published 0.0 1.3 1.2 2.5 0.5 2.5
=========================================================================================================================
Table B1. Labor productivity growth and related measures – revised and previously published third-quarter 2017
(percent change from previous quarter at annual rate)
Labor Hours Hourly Real hourly Unit labor
Sector productivity Output worked compensation compensation costs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nonfarm business Revised 2.7 4.0 1.2 2.7 0.6 -0.1
Previously published 3.0 4.1 1.1 2.7 0.7 -0.2
Business Revised 3.3 3.9 0.6 3.2 1.2 -0.1
Previously published 3.6 4.1 0.5 3.3 1.3 -0.3
Manufacturing Revised -4.9 -1.6 3.5 0.2 -1.8 5.4
Previously published -4.4 -1.1 3.5 0.2 -1.8 4.8
Durable Revised -5.0 -2.2 3.0 0.1 -1.9 5.3
manufacturing Previously published -4.7 -1.7 3.1 0.1 -1.9 5.0
Nondurable Revised -5.2 -1.0 4.4 0.4 -1.6 5.9
manufacturing Previously published -4.4 -0.4 4.1 0.5 -1.5 5.1
=========================================================================================================================
Table C1. Labor productivity growth and related measures – annual average changes: 2013-2017
Labor Hours Hourly Real hourly Unit labor
Sector Year productivity Output worked compensation compensation costs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nonfarm business..... ...2017 1.2 2.9 1.6 1.5 -0.7 0.2
........................2016 -0.1 1.5 1.6 1.0 -0.2 1.1
........................2015 1.3 3.4 2.1 3.1 3.0 1.8
........................2014 1.0 3.3 2.2 2.9 1.3 1.9
........................2013 0.3 2.0 1.7 1.2 -0.3 0.9
Manufacturing....... ....2017 0.7 1.7 1.0 1.6 -0.5 0.9
........................2016 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.7 -0.5 0.3
........................2015 0.2 1.2 1.0 2.5 2.4 2.2
........................2014 0.0 1.6 1.5 2.8 1.2 2.8
........................2013 0.9 1.8 0.8 0.2 -1.3 -0.8
=========================================================================================================================
TECHNICAL NOTES
Labor Hours
Hours data for the labor productivity and cost measures include hours worked
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, counting a person who is employed by two or more
establishments at each place of employment. The CES also provides average
weekly paid hours of production and nonsupervisory workers in these
establishments. Weekly paid hours are adjusted to hours worked using data from
the National Compensation Survey (NCS) for 1996 forward and data from the BLS
Hours at Work survey, conducted for this purpose, prior to 1990. Between 1990
and 1995, weekly paid hours are adjusted to hours at work using a combination
of NCS and Hours at Work survey data. 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 to estimate hours worked for farm labor, nonfarm
proprietors, and nonfarm unpaid family workers. Using CPS information on
employment and hours worked at primary jobs and all other jobs, separately,
the BLS productivity measures assign all hours worked to the appropriate
industrial sector. Hours 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.
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
hours. Business output accounted for about 75 percent of the value of GDP in
2016. Nonfarm business, which excludes farming, also accounted for about 75
percent of GDP in 2016.
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 indexes 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.
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 50 percent of
the value of GDP in 2016.
Labor Productivity
The measure describes the relationship between real output and the labor time
involved in its production. Measures of labor productivity growth show the
changes from period to period in the amount of goods and services produced per
hour worked. 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 employees in domestic industries 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
These measures describe the relationship between compensation per hour and
labor 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 2009=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. A complete historical series of 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
productivity@bls.gov).
For a more detailed explanation of methodology see "Technical Information
About the Major Sector Productivity and Costs Methods" at
www.bls.gov/lpc/lpcmethods.pdf.
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: Labor productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and prices,
seasonally adjusted.
Real
Hourly hourly Unit Implicit
Year Labor compen- compen- Unit nonlabor price
and produc- Hours sation sation labor payments deflator
quarter tivity Output worked (1) (2) costs (3) (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate (5)
2017 ANNUAL 1.2 2.7 1.5 1.5 -0.6 0.3 3.2 1.6
2017 IV -0.9 3.1 4.1 1.1 -2.5 2.0 2.8 2.4
III 3.3 r 3.9 r 0.6 r 3.2 r 1.2 r -0.1 r 4.6 r 1.9 r
II 1.4 3.7 2.3 0.3 0.7 -1.0 2.8 0.6
I -0.8 1.4 2.1 4.3 1.1 5.1 -3.0 1.5
2016 ANNUAL 0.0 1.6 1.6 1.0 -0.2 1.0 1.0 1.0
2016 IV 2.0 2.2 0.2 -3.7 -6.5 -5.5 13.3 2.2
III 2.7 3.3 0.6 2.8 1.0 0.1 2.5 1.1
II 0.6 2.6 2.0 4.4 2.0 3.7 0.0 2.1
I -1.1 0.4 1.5 -3.8 -3.9 -2.8 5.2 0.5
2015 ANNUAL 1.2 3.5 2.3 2.9 2.8 1.7 -0.8 0.6
2015 IV -2.7 0.2 3.0 4.3 3.9 7.2 -9.3 -0.2
III 1.6 1.6 0.0 1.2 -0.3 -0.4 3.1 1.1
II 1.6 3.3 1.7 3.9 1.5 2.3 1.6 2.0
I 2.4 4.0 1.5 3.0 5.6 0.5 -2.4 -0.7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2017 ANNUAL 1.2 2.7 1.5 1.5 -0.6 0.3 3.2 1.6
2017 IV 0.8 3.0 2.3 2.2 0.1 1.5 1.8 1.6
III 1.5 2.8 1.3 1.0 -1.0 r -0.5 4.3 r 1.6
II 1.3 2.6 1.3 0.9 -1.0 -0.4 3.7 1.4
I 1.1 2.4 1.2 1.9 -0.7 0.8 3.0 1.7
2016 ANNUAL 0.0 1.6 1.6 1.0 -0.2 1.0 1.0 1.0
2016 IV 1.0 2.1 1.1 -0.1 -1.9 -1.2 5.1 1.5
III -0.1 1.6 1.8 1.9 0.7 2.0 -0.6 0.9
II -0.4 1.2 1.6 1.5 0.4 1.9 -0.4 0.9
I -0.2 1.4 1.5 1.3 0.2 1.5 0.0 0.8
2015 ANNUAL 1.2 3.5 2.3 2.9 2.8 1.7 -0.8 0.6
2015 IV 0.7 2.3 1.6 3.1 2.6 2.4 -1.9 0.5
III 0.9 2.8 1.9 3.2 3.0 2.3 -1.6 0.6
II 1.4 4.1 2.7 3.5 3.5 2.1 -1.1 0.7
I 1.6 4.8 3.1 1.9 1.9 0.3 1.5 0.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2017 ANNUAL 108.2 123.5 114.2 117.4 102.8 108.6 117.1 112.1
2017 IV 108.5 125.1 115.3 118.2 102.5 108.9 118.5 112.9
III 108.8 r 124.1 r 114.1 r 117.9 r 103.1 r 108.4 r 117.7 r 112.3 r
II 107.9 123.0 114.0 116.9 102.8 108.4 116.4 111.7
I 107.5 121.8 113.3 116.8 102.7 108.7 115.6 111.6
2016 ANNUAL 106.9 120.3 112.5 115.7 103.4 108.2 113.4 110.4
2016 IV 107.7 121.4 112.7 115.6 102.4 107.3 116.5 111.2
III 107.2 120.8 112.7 116.7 104.1 108.9 112.9 110.5
II 106.5 119.8 112.5 115.9 103.9 108.8 112.2 110.2
I 106.3 119.0 112.0 114.6 103.3 107.8 112.2 109.7
2015 ANNUAL 106.9 118.4 110.7 114.5 103.7 107.1 112.3 109.3
2015 IV 106.6 118.9 111.5 115.8 104.4 108.6 110.8 109.5
III 107.3 118.8 110.7 114.6 103.4 106.7 113.5 109.6
II 106.9 118.4 110.7 114.2 103.5 106.9 112.6 109.3
I 106.5 117.4 110.3 113.1 103.1 106.3 112.2 108.7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. February 1, 2018
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 2. Nonfarm business sector: Labor productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and
prices, seasonally adjusted.
Real
Hourly hourly Unit Implicit
Year Labor compen- compen- Unit nonlabor price
and produc- Hours sation sation labor payments deflator
quarter tivity Output worked (1) (2) costs (3) (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate (5)
2017 ANNUAL 1.2 2.9 1.6 1.5 -0.7 0.2 3.2 1.5
2017 IV -0.1 3.2 3.3 1.8 -1.8 2.0 3.0 2.4
III 2.7 r 4.0 r 1.2 r 2.7 0.6 r -0.1 r 4.8 r 2.0 r
II 1.5 3.9 2.4 0.3 0.6 -1.2 3.0 0.6
I 0.1 1.8 1.6 4.9 1.7 4.8 -3.9 0.9
2016 ANNUAL -0.1 1.5 1.6 1.0 -0.2 1.1 1.4 1.2
2016 IV 1.3 2.2 1.0 -4.5 -7.3 -5.7 13.9 2.3
III 2.5 3.3 0.8 2.5 0.7 0.1 3.1 1.3
II 0.8 2.5 1.7 4.8 2.4 3.9 0.0 2.2
I -1.2 0.2 1.4 -3.8 -3.9 -2.7 5.8 0.9
2015 ANNUAL 1.3 3.4 2.1 3.1 3.0 1.8 -0.3 0.9
2015 IV -2.6 0.3 2.9 4.5 4.1 7.2 -8.8 0.1
III 1.3 1.3 0.0 1.1 -0.4 -0.2 3.0 1.2
II 1.3 3.3 2.0 3.6 1.2 2.3 1.5 1.9
I 2.7 4.0 1.2 3.3 6.0 0.6 -0.9 0.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2017 ANNUAL 1.2 2.9 1.6 1.5 -0.7 0.2 3.2 1.5
2017 IV 1.1 3.2 2.1 2.4 0.3 1.3 1.7 1.5
III 1.4 r 3.0 1.5 0.8 -1.2 r -0.6 r 4.3 r 1.5
II 1.3 2.8 1.4 0.8 -1.1 -0.6 3.8 1.3
I 1.2 2.5 1.3 1.9 -0.7 0.7 3.1 1.7
2016 ANNUAL -0.1 1.5 1.6 1.0 -0.2 1.1 1.4 1.2
2016 IV 0.8 2.1 1.2 -0.3 -2.1 -1.2 5.6 1.7
III -0.1 1.6 1.7 1.9 0.8 2.1 -0.1 1.1
II -0.4 1.1 1.5 1.6 0.5 2.0 -0.2 1.1
I -0.3 1.3 1.6 1.3 0.2 1.6 0.2 1.0
2015 ANNUAL 1.3 3.4 2.1 3.1 3.0 1.8 -0.3 0.9
2015 IV 0.7 2.2 1.5 3.1 2.7 2.4 -1.4 0.8
III 0.8 2.7 1.9 3.3 3.1 2.4 -1.3 0.8
II 1.6 4.1 2.5 3.8 3.8 2.2 -0.5 1.0
I 1.9 4.7 2.8 2.3 2.3 0.4 2.0 1.1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2017 ANNUAL 108.3 123.7 114.2 117.7 103.0 108.6 117.0 112.1
2017 IV 108.8 125.3 115.2 118.5 102.7 108.9 118.6 112.9
III 108.8 r 124.3 r 114.3 r 117.9 r 103.2 r 108.4 r 117.7 r 112.3 r
II 108.1 123.1 113.9 117.2 103.0 108.4 116.3 111.7
I 107.7 122.0 113.3 117.1 102.9 108.7 115.5 111.5
2016 ANNUAL 107.0 120.2 112.4 116.0 103.7 108.4 113.4 110.5
2016 IV 107.6 121.4 112.8 115.7 102.4 107.5 116.6 111.3
III 107.3 120.8 112.5 117.0 104.4 109.1 112.9 110.7
II 106.6 119.8 112.3 116.3 104.2 109.1 112.0 110.3
I 106.4 119.0 111.9 114.9 103.6 108.0 112.0 109.7
2015 ANNUAL 107.1 118.5 110.7 114.8 103.9 107.2 111.8 109.1
2015 IV 106.7 119.0 111.5 116.1 104.6 108.7 110.4 109.5
III 107.4 118.9 110.7 114.8 103.6 106.9 113.0 109.4
II 107.1 118.5 110.7 114.5 103.7 106.9 112.2 109.1
I 106.7 117.6 110.1 113.5 103.4 106.3 111.8 108.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. February 1, 2018
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 3. Manufacturing sector: Labor productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted.
Real
Year Labor Hourly hourly Unit
and produc- Hours compensa- compensa- labor
quarter tivity Output worked tion (1) tion (2) costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate (5)
2017 ANNUAL 0.7 1.7 1.0 1.6 -0.5 0.9
2017 IV 5.7 7.3 1.5 1.8 -1.8 -3.7
III -4.9 r -1.6 r 3.5 0.2 -1.8 5.4 r
II 3.6 2.9 -0.6 2.3 2.6 -1.2
I 0.2 2.3 2.1 4.4 1.2 4.2
2016 ANNUAL 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.7 -0.5 0.3
2016 IV 2.0 1.8 -0.2 -4.2 -7.1 -6.1
III -0.5 0.2 0.7 2.6 0.8 3.1
II -0.8 -0.9 -0.1 7.1 4.7 8.0
I 1.3 1.0 -0.3 -10.1 -10.2 -11.3
2015 ANNUAL 0.2 1.2 1.0 2.5 2.4 2.2
2015 IV -1.2 -0.3 1.0 9.1 8.7 10.5
III 3.1 1.9 -1.2 1.8 0.3 -1.3
II 0.7 0.8 0.0 3.5 1.1 2.7
I -0.4 -0.8 -0.4 0.0 2.6 0.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2017 ANNUAL 0.7 1.7 1.0 1.6 -0.5 0.9
2017 IV 1.1 2.7 1.6 2.2 0.0 1.1
III 0.2 r 1.3 r 1.2 0.6 -1.3 0.5 r
II 1.3 1.8 0.5 1.2 -0.7 -0.1
I 0.2 0.8 0.6 2.4 -0.2 2.2
2016 ANNUAL 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.7 -0.5 0.3
2016 IV 0.5 0.5 0.0 -1.4 -3.1 -1.9
III -0.3 0.0 0.3 1.9 0.7 2.2
II 0.6 0.4 -0.2 1.7 0.6 1.1
I 1.0 0.8 -0.1 0.8 -0.3 -0.1
2015 ANNUAL 0.2 1.2 1.0 2.5 2.4 2.2
2015 IV 0.6 0.4 -0.2 3.5 3.1 3.0
III 0.5 1.1 0.6 2.6 2.4 2.0
II -0.1 1.2 1.3 2.7 2.7 2.8
I -0.1 2.2 2.2 1.0 1.1 1.1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2017 ANNUAL 108.4 118.1 108.9 113.3 99.1 104.5
2017 IV 109.1 119.6 109.6 113.9 98.7 104.4
III 107.6 r 117.5 r 109.2 r 113.3 r 99.2 r 105.3 r
II 109.0 r 118.0 r 108.3 113.3 99.6 104.0 r
I 108.0 117.2 108.5 112.7 99.0 104.3
2016 ANNUAL 107.7 116.1 107.8 111.5 99.7 103.5
2016 IV 108.0 116.5 107.9 111.4 98.7 103.2
III 107.4 116.0 107.9 112.6 100.5 104.9
II 107.6 115.9 107.8 111.9 100.3 104.1
I 107.8 116.2 107.8 110.0 99.2 102.1
2015 ANNUAL 107.2 115.6 107.8 110.7 100.2 103.2
2015 IV 107.5 115.9 107.9 113.0 101.9 105.2
III 107.8 116.0 107.6 110.6 99.8 102.6
II 107.0 115.4 107.9 110.1 99.7 102.9
I 106.8 115.2 107.9 109.1 99.4 102.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. February 1, 2018
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 4. Durable manufacturing sector: Labor productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor
costs, seasonally adjusted.
Real
Year Labor Hourly hourly Unit
and produc- Hours compensa- compensa- labor
quarter tivity Output worked tion (1) tion (2) costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate (5)
2017 ANNUAL 1.1 1.9 0.8 1.9 -0.3 0.8
2017 IV 6.7 8.2 1.4 2.6 -1.0 -3.8
III -5.0 r -2.2 r 3.0 r 0.1 -1.9 5.3 r
II 5.4 r 2.6 -2.6 5.6 5.9 0.2
I -1.0 2.6 3.6 2.5 -0.6 3.6
2016 ANNUAL 0.5 0.2 -0.3 1.0 -0.3 0.5
2016 IV 1.8 2.0 0.2 -4.3 -7.1 -6.0
III 0.7 1.0 0.3 2.5 0.7 1.7
II 1.9 0.2 -1.6 9.5 7.0 7.5
I -0.6 0.1 0.7 -11.4 -11.5 -10.9
2015 ANNUAL 0.2 0.8 0.6 3.0 2.9 2.8
2015 IV -2.5 -1.9 0.7 10.8 10.4 13.7
III 3.9 1.8 -2.0 1.4 -0.2 -2.4
II 1.1 0.6 -0.5 2.8 0.5 1.7
I -1.4 -2.5 -1.1 2.0 4.6 3.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2017 ANNUAL 1.1 1.9 0.8 1.9 -0.3 0.8
2017 IV 1.4 2.7 1.3 2.7 0.5 1.3
III 0.2 r 1.2 r 1.0 0.9 -1.0 0.7 r
II 1.7 2.0 0.3 1.5 -0.4 -0.2
I 0.8 1.4 0.6 2.4 -0.1 1.6
2016 ANNUAL 0.5 0.2 -0.3 1.0 -0.3 0.5
2016 IV 1.0 0.8 -0.1 -1.2 -3.0 -2.2
III -0.1 -0.2 0.0 2.4 1.3 2.6
II 0.6 0.0 -0.6 2.2 1.1 1.5
I 0.4 0.1 -0.3 0.6 -0.5 0.1
2015 ANNUAL 0.2 0.8 0.6 3.0 2.9 2.8
2015 IV 0.2 -0.5 -0.7 4.2 3.7 3.9
III 0.9 0.5 -0.3 3.0 2.9 2.1
II -0.1 0.8 0.9 3.3 3.3 3.4
I -0.1 2.3 2.4 1.6 1.7 1.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2017 ANNUAL 113.4 126.2 111.3 113.0 98.9 99.6
2017 IV 114.5 128.0 111.8 113.9 98.8 99.5
III 112.6 r 125.5 r 111.4 r 113.2 r 99.1 r 100.5 r
II 114.1 r 126.2 r 110.6 113.2 99.5 99.2 r
I 112.6 125.4 111.4 111.6 98.1 99.2
2016 ANNUAL 112.2 123.9 110.4 110.9 99.1 98.8
2016 IV 112.9 124.6 110.4 111.0 98.3 98.3
III 112.3 123.9 110.3 112.2 100.1 99.8
II 112.2 123.6 110.2 111.5 99.9 99.4
I 111.6 123.6 110.7 109.0 98.2 97.6
2015 ANNUAL 111.7 123.7 110.7 109.8 99.4 98.3
2015 IV 111.8 123.5 110.5 112.3 101.3 100.5
III 112.5 124.1 110.3 109.5 98.8 97.3
II 111.4 123.6 110.9 109.1 98.9 97.9
I 111.1 123.4 111.0 108.4 98.7 97.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. February 1, 2018
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 5. Nondurable manufacturing sector: Labor productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor
costs, seasonally adjusted.
Real
Year Labor Hourly hourly Unit
and produc- Hours compensa- compensa- labor
quarter tivity Output worked tion (1) tion (2) costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate (5)
2017 ANNUAL 0.2 1.4 1.3 1.1 -1.1 0.9
2017 IV 4.5 6.4 1.8 0.3 -3.3 -4.0
III -5.2 r -1.0 r 4.4 r 0.4 r -1.6 r 5.9 r
II 0.4 3.3 2.9 -3.3 -3.0 -3.6
I 2.5 2.0 -0.5 8.0 4.7 5.3
2016 ANNUAL 0.2 0.7 0.5 0.4 -0.9 0.1
2016 IV 2.3 1.5 -0.8 -4.3 -7.2 -6.5
III -2.2 -0.8 1.5 2.8 1.0 5.2
II -4.5 -2.2 2.5 3.0 0.7 7.9
I 4.0 2.1 -1.8 -7.7 -7.8 -11.3
2015 ANNUAL 0.2 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.3
2015 IV 0.1 1.6 1.4 6.1 5.7 5.9
III 1.8 2.0 0.2 2.8 1.2 1.0
II 0.1 1.0 1.0 4.8 2.4 4.7
I 0.6 1.3 0.7 -3.5 -1.0 -4.1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2017 ANNUAL 0.2 1.4 1.3 1.1 -1.1 0.9
2017 IV 0.5 2.6 2.1 1.3 -0.8 0.8
III 0.0 r 1.4 r 1.5 r 0.1 -1.8 0.1 r
II 0.7 1.5 0.8 0.7 -1.2 -0.1 r
I -0.5 0.1 0.7 2.3 -0.3 2.8
2016 ANNUAL 0.2 0.7 0.5 0.4 -0.9 0.1
2016 IV -0.2 0.2 0.3 -1.7 -3.4 -1.5
III -0.7 0.2 0.9 0.9 -0.2 1.6
II 0.3 0.9 0.6 0.9 -0.2 0.6
I 1.5 1.7 0.2 1.3 0.2 -0.2
2015 ANNUAL 0.2 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.3
2015 IV 0.7 1.5 0.8 2.5 2.0 1.8
III -0.3 1.9 2.2 1.9 1.8 2.2
II -0.1 1.8 1.9 1.7 1.7 1.8
I 0.4 2.3 1.9 -0.2 -0.1 -0.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2017 ANNUAL 105.8 111.2 105.0 113.3 99.2 107.1
2017 IV 106.0 112.5 106.2 113.2 98.1 106.8
III 104.9 r 110.8 r 105.7 r 113.1 r 99.0 r 107.9 r
II 106.3 r 111.1 r 104.6 113.0 99.4 106.3 r
I 106.2 110.2 103.8 113.9 100.1 107.3
2016 ANNUAL 105.7 109.6 103.7 112.1 100.2 106.1
2016 IV 105.5 109.7 103.9 111.8 99.0 105.9
III 104.9 109.2 104.1 113.0 100.8 107.7
II 105.5 109.5 103.8 112.2 100.6 106.4
I 106.7 110.1 103.1 111.4 100.4 104.4
2015 ANNUAL 105.4 108.8 103.2 111.7 101.1 106.0
2015 IV 105.7 109.5 103.6 113.6 102.5 107.5
III 105.6 109.1 103.2 112.0 101.1 106.0
II 105.2 108.5 103.2 111.2 100.8 105.7
I 105.2 108.2 102.9 109.9 100.2 104.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. February 1, 2018
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 6. Nonfinancial corporate sector: Labor productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs,
unit profits, and prices, seasonally adjusted.
Real
Hourly hourly Unit Total Implicit
Year Labor compen- compen- Unit nonlabor unit Unit price
and produc- Hours sation sation labor costs costs profits deflator
quarter tivity Output worked (1) (2) costs (6) (7) (8) (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate (5)
2017 III -0.4 r 1.0 r 1.3 r 2.4 r 0.4 r 2.8 r 2.6 r 2.7 r 2.3 r 2.7 r
II 3.3 6.4 3.0 0.2 0.5 -3.0 -1.8 -2.6 13.7 -0.6
I 2.0 4.1 2.0 4.3 1.1 2.3 -1.0 1.2 -2.7 0.7
2016 ANNUAL -0.1 1.4 1.5 1.1 -0.2 1.2 -0.5 0.7 -5.3 -0.2
2016 IV -4.5 -3.9 0.6 -3.6 -6.5 0.9 9.2 3.5 -2.8 2.7
III 5.9 7.4 1.5 1.9 0.1 -3.7 -4.5 -4.0 7.3 -2.6
II -2.0 -0.6 1.4 3.7 1.4 5.9 1.7 4.5 -28.8 -0.8
I 0.5 1.1 0.6 -1.8 -1.9 -2.3 -13.0 -5.9 47.7 0.0
2015 ANNUAL 1.4 3.6 2.2 3.0 2.9 1.6 0.4 1.2 -5.1 0.3
2015 IV -1.4 1.5 3.0 3.4 3.0 4.9 13.8 7.7 -41.5 -0.9
III 0.7 2.5 1.8 0.5 -1.0 -0.2 -0.1 -0.2 5.3 0.6
II -2.0 -0.9 1.1 2.7 0.4 4.8 4.0 4.5 -1.3 3.7
I 3.3 4.6 1.3 7.1 9.9 3.7 -2.2 1.8 -23.7 -2.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2017 III 0.1 r 1.8 r 1.7 0.8 -1.2 r 0.7 r 2.2 r 1.2 r 2.5 1.3
II 1.6 3.4 1.8 0.7 -1.2 -0.9 0.4 -0.5 3.7 0.0
I 0.3 1.7 1.4 1.5 -1.0 1.3 1.2 1.3 -7.8 0.0
2016 ANNUAL -0.1 1.4 1.5 1.1 -0.2 1.2 -0.5 0.7 -5.3 -0.2
2016 IV -0.1 0.9 1.0 0.0 -1.8 0.1 -2.0 -0.6 2.3 -0.2
III 0.7 2.3 1.6 1.8 0.6 1.1 -1.0 0.4 -9.9 -1.1
II -0.6 1.1 1.7 1.4 0.3 2.0 0.1 1.4 -10.3 -0.3
I -0.6 1.1 1.6 1.2 0.1 1.7 0.7 1.4 -2.6 0.8
2015 ANNUAL 1.4 3.6 2.2 3.0 2.9 1.6 0.4 1.2 -5.1 0.3
2015 IV 0.1 1.9 1.8 3.4 3.0 3.3 3.7 3.4 -17.5 0.2
III 1.0 2.8 1.8 3.3 3.1 2.3 0.1 1.6 -6.1 0.4
II 1.8 3.9 2.1 3.5 3.5 1.6 -0.4 1.0 -2.1 0.5
I 2.7 6.0 3.2 1.9 2.0 -0.8 -1.8 -1.1 7.6 0.1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2017 III 108.8 r 127.1 r 116.9 r 117.1 r 102.5 r 107.7 r 101.1 r 105.5 r 139.8 r 109.1 r
II 108.9 126.8 116.5 116.4 102.4 106.9 100.4 104.8 139.0 108.3
I 108.0 124.9 115.7 116.3 102.2 107.7 100.9 105.4 134.6 108.5
2016 ANNUAL 107.7 123.5 114.6 115.4 103.1 107.1 99.9 104.7 138.0 108.2
2016 IV 107.4 123.6 115.1 115.1 101.9 107.1 101.1 105.1 135.5 108.3
III 108.7 124.9 114.9 116.2 103.7 106.9 98.9 104.2 136.5 107.6
II 107.1 122.6 114.5 115.6 103.6 107.9 100.1 105.3 134.1 108.3
I 107.7 122.8 114.1 114.6 103.3 106.4 99.7 104.1 146.0 108.5
2015 ANNUAL 107.9 121.8 112.9 114.1 103.3 105.8 100.5 104.0 145.8 108.4
2015 IV 107.5 122.5 113.9 115.1 103.8 107.0 103.2 105.7 132.4 108.5
III 107.9 122.0 113.1 114.1 103.0 105.7 99.9 103.8 151.4 108.8
II 107.8 121.3 112.6 114.0 103.3 105.8 99.9 103.8 149.5 108.6
I 108.3 121.6 112.2 113.2 103.2 104.6 98.9 102.7 150.0 107.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. February 1, 2018
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. Hours and compensation
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 -1.5
and 1.4 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 third quarter of 2017.
Table Footnotes
(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 1978-2016 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 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.
United States Department of Labor
