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Productivity increased 0.3 percent from Q4 2014 to Q4 2015

February 16, 2016

From the fourth quarter of 2014 to the fourth quarter of 2015, nonfarm business productivity increased 0.3 percent. Real hourly compensation increased 2.7 percent, hours worked increased 1.5 percent, and output increased 1.9 percent.

Percent change in productivity measures from Q4 2014 to Q4 2015
Measure Business Nonfarm business Manufacturing Durable manufacturing Nondurable manufacturing

Labor Productivity

0.5 0.3 1.5 1.5 1.2

Output

2.1 1.9 1.1 0.6 1.7

Hours worked

1.5 1.5 -0.4 -0.9 0.5

Hourly compensation

3.1 3.1 3.4 3.1 4.1

Real hourly compensation

2.7 2.7 3.0 2.7 3.6

Unit labor costs

2.5 2.8 1.9 1.6 2.8

Over the same time period, manufacturing saw a 1.5 percent increase in labor productivity, with a 1.1 percent gain in output and a 3.0 percent gain in real hourly compensation.

These data are from the Labor Productivity and Costs program. To learn more, see “Productivity and Costs — Fourth Quarter 2015, Preliminary,” (HTML) (PDF). Labor productivity is calculated by dividing inflation-adjusted output by hours worked for all employees, business owners, and unpaid family workers.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Productivity increased 0.3 percent from Q4 2014 to Q4 2015 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/productivity-increased-0-3-percent-from-q4-2014-to-q4-2015.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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