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Labor productivity up 4.1 percent from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021
May 10, 2021
From the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021, nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 4.1 percent, reflecting a 1.1-percent increase in output and a 2.9-percent decline in hours worked.
Percent change in productivity measures from same quarter in previous year by sector, first quarter 2000 to first quarter 2021
Percent change in productivity measures from same quarter in previous year by sector, first quarter 2000 to first quarter 2021
Quarter
Nonfarm business labor productivity
Nonfarm business output
Nonfarm business hours worked
Business labor productivity
Business output
Business hours worked
Q1 2000
2.6%
4.8%
2.1%
2.6%
4.9%
2.3%
Q2 2000
4.4
6.3
1.8
4.4
6.4
1.8
Q3 2000
3.4
4.6
1.1
3.5
4.8
1.2
Q4 2000
2.9
3.3
0.4
3.3
3.4
0.2
Q1 2001
2.6
2.4
-0.2
2.8
2.4
-0.4
Q2 2001
2.3
0.9
-1.4
2.4
0.8
-1.6
Q3 2001
2.9
0.2
-2.6
2.9
0.0
-2.8
Q4 2001
3.1
-0.3
-3.3
3.0
-0.3
-3.3
Q1 2002
5.8
1.4
-4.1
5.4
1.2
-4.0
Q2 2002
4.2
1.1
-3.0
4.2
1.2
-2.9
Q3 2002
4.4
2.2
-2.1
4.5
2.4
-2.0
Q4 2002
3.0
2.2
-0.8
3.1
2.2
-0.8
Q1 2003
1.9
1.4
-0.5
2.3
1.7
-0.6
Q2 2003
3.1
2.0
-1.0
3.5
2.2
-1.3
Q3 2003
4.6
4.0
-0.5
4.5
4.0
-0.6
Q4 2003
5.6
5.5
-0.2
5.4
5.2
-0.2
Q1 2004
4.2
5.0
0.8
4.4
5.1
0.6
Q2 2004
3.9
5.0
1.1
3.5
4.9
1.3
Q3 2004
2.0
3.7
1.6
2.1
3.7
1.6
Q4 2004
1.5
3.2
1.7
2.2
3.5
1.3
Q1 2005
3.0
4.5
1.5
3.1
4.4
1.3
Q2 2005
1.8
3.8
2.0
1.9
4.0
2.0
Q3 2005
2.1
3.8
1.6
2.3
3.9
1.6
Q4 2005
1.8
3.5
1.7
1.6
3.5
1.8
Q1 2006
1.3
3.9
2.5
1.4
3.8
2.4
Q2 2006
1.4
3.7
2.2
1.6
3.7
2.0
Q3 2006
0.4
2.8
2.4
0.5
2.8
2.3
Q4 2006
1.2
3.3
2.1
1.0
3.2
2.2
Q1 2007
0.7
1.9
1.1
0.6
1.8
1.2
Q2 2007
1.3
2.6
1.3
1.2
2.3
1.1
Q3 2007
2.5
3.0
0.4
2.5
2.8
0.3
Q4 2007
2.5
2.3
-0.2
2.4
2.2
-0.2
Q1 2008
1.4
0.9
-0.5
1.4
0.8
-0.5
Q2 2008
2.1
0.5
-1.5
2.0
0.6
-1.4
Q3 2008
1.4
-0.9
-2.3
1.2
-0.9
-2.1
Q4 2008
-0.1
-4.5
-4.4
-0.1
-4.4
-4.3
Q1 2009
1.6
-5.0
-6.6
1.6
-4.9
-6.4
Q2 2009
2.7
-5.7
-8.1
2.7
-5.5
-8.0
Q3 2009
3.8
-4.5
-8.0
3.9
-4.3
-7.9
Q4 2009
6.1
-0.1
-5.9
6.3
0.0
-5.9
Q1 2010
5.6
2.0
-3.4
5.6
2.0
-3.4
Q2 2010
3.7
3.4
-0.2
3.6
3.4
-0.2
Q3 2010
2.8
4.2
1.3
2.8
4.1
1.3
Q4 2010
1.6
3.5
1.9
1.5
3.4
1.9
Q1 2011
0.4
2.5
2.0
0.3
2.4
2.1
Q2 2011
0.4
2.4
2.0
0.3
2.2
1.9
Q3 2011
-0.5
1.3
1.8
-0.7
1.1
1.8
Q4 2011
-0.3
1.9
2.2
-0.3
1.9
2.2
Q1 2012
0.8
3.7
2.9
0.7
3.6
2.9
Q2 2012
1.1
3.2
2.2
1.0
3.2
2.2
Q3 2012
1.3
3.5
2.2
1.2
3.4
2.2
Q4 2012
0.3
2.2
1.9
0.2
2.0
1.8
Q1 2013
0.5
2.0
1.5
0.8
2.1
1.3
Q2 2013
-0.3
1.4
1.7
0.2
1.7
1.4
Q3 2013
0.3
2.2
1.9
0.8
2.5
1.8
Q4 2013
1.5
3.2
1.7
1.8
3.5
1.7
Q1 2014
-0.1
1.7
1.8
0.0
1.7
1.8
Q2 2014
1.3
3.4
2.1
1.1
3.3
2.2
Q3 2014
1.8
4.0
2.2
1.5
3.9
2.3
Q4 2014
0.5
3.5
3.0
0.3
3.5
3.2
Q1 2015
2.5
5.2
2.7
2.2
5.3
3.0
Q2 2015
1.8
4.3
2.4
1.7
4.3
2.6
Q3 2015
0.9
3.0
2.1
0.9
3.1
2.1
Q4 2015
1.0
2.4
1.4
1.0
2.5
1.4
Q1 2016
0.3
1.9
1.6
0.3
1.9
1.6
Q2 2016
-0.2
1.4
1.5
-0.3
1.4
1.7
Q3 2016
0.1
1.6
1.5
0.1
1.7
1.6
Q4 2016
1.3
2.4
1.1
1.5
2.4
0.9
Q1 2017
1.2
2.3
1.2
1.2
2.4
1.1
Q2 2017
1.0
2.6
1.6
1.1
2.5
1.4
Q3 2017
1.5
2.9
1.4
1.6
2.8
1.2
Q4 2017
1.2
3.2
2.0
1.0
3.2
2.1
Q1 2018
1.5
3.7
2.2
1.5
3.7
2.1
Q2 2018
1.9
3.9
2.0
2.1
3.9
1.8
Q3 2018
1.4
3.6
2.1
1.4
3.6
2.2
Q4 2018
1.1
2.7
1.7
1.2
2.8
1.6
Q1 2019
1.6
2.6
1.1
1.5
2.6
1.0
Q2 2019
1.8
2.2
0.3
1.8
2.2
0.4
Q3 2019
1.7
2.3
0.7
1.7
2.3
0.6
Q4 2019
2.0
2.7
0.7
1.9
2.6
0.7
Q1 2020
0.8
0.1
-0.7
0.9
0.2
-0.7
Q2 2020
3.0
-11.1
-13.7
2.8
-11.0
-13.4
Q3 2020
4.0
-3.2
-6.9
4.1
-3.1
-7.0
Q4 2020
2.6
-2.6
-5.0
2.5
-2.5
-4.9
Q1 2021
4.1
1.1
-2.9
4.0
1.1
-2.8
Percent change in productivity measures from same quarter in previous year by sector, first quarter 2000 to first quarter 2021 (continued)
Quarter
Manufacturing labor productivity
Manufacturing output
Manufacturing hours worked
Durable goods labor productivity
Durable goods output
Durable goods hours worked
Q1 2000
4.4%
3.7%
-0.7%
4.8%
5.0%
0.2%
Q2 2000
3.6
3.6
0.0
3.6
4.8
1.1
Q3 2000
3.5
2.7
-0.8
3.9
3.4
-0.5
Q4 2000
2.0
0.2
-1.7
2.4
1.3
-1.1
Q1 2001
1.2
-2.1
-3.3
0.8
-2.0
-2.8
Q2 2001
1.8
-4.4
-6.0
1.4
-4.9
-6.2
Q3 2001
2.2
-5.5
-7.5
1.2
-7.3
-8.4
Q4 2001
3.9
-5.6
-9.2
2.7
-8.4
-10.9
Q1 2002
7.2
-2.9
-9.4
6.2
-5.6
-11.1
Q2 2002
8.3
0.2
-7.5
7.3
-2.1
-8.7
Q3 2002
10.0
2.7
-6.7
9.7
1.6
-7.4
Q4 2002
8.5
3.5
-4.5
9.8
4.0
-5.3
Q1 2003
7.4
2.9
-4.2
8.3
3.2
-4.7
Q2 2003
6.4
0.6
-5.4
7.3
0.7
-6.1
Q3 2003
6.7
0.4
-6.0
8.2
1.0
-6.7
Q4 2003
5.4
1.3
-3.9
6.1
2.2
-3.7
Q1 2004
3.0
1.0
-1.9
3.3
2.0
-1.2
Q2 2004
3.0
2.1
-0.8
2.3
2.5
0.2
Q3 2004
1.5
2.4
0.8
-0.6
1.8
2.5
Q4 2004
3.5
3.0
-0.4
1.2
2.0
0.8
Q1 2005
6.0
4.6
-1.3
4.4
4.1
-0.3
Q2 2005
6.2
4.6
-1.5
5.6
5.0
-0.6
Q3 2005
5.2
3.5
-1.7
5.6
4.7
-0.9
Q4 2005
3.4
3.3
-0.1
5.4
6.2
0.7
Q1 2006
1.1
2.0
0.9
2.8
4.3
1.4
Q2 2006
-0.5
1.4
1.9
1.1
3.8
2.7
Q3 2006
0.6
2.0
1.4
2.1
3.5
1.3
Q4 2006
2.0
1.1
-0.9
1.8
0.9
-0.9
Q1 2007
3.7
1.7
-1.9
3.9
1.8
-2.0
Q2 2007
5.2
3.4
-1.7
6.3
4.0
-2.1
Q3 2007
5.2
3.5
-1.6
5.8
4.3
-1.4
Q4 2007
5.0
3.4
-1.5
6.8
4.7
-2.0
Q1 2008
3.5
1.4
-2.1
4.8
2.7
-2.0
Q2 2008
0.8
-2.2
-2.9
0.7
-2.1
-2.8
Q3 2008
-1.5
-5.9
-4.5
-1.3
-6.5
-5.3
Q4 2008
-4.3
-11.4
-7.4
-7.4
-14.7
-7.8
Q1 2009
-4.8
-16.0
-11.7
-9.8
-21.9
-13.4
Q2 2009
-1.2
-16.1
-15.1
-6.6
-23.4
-18.0
Q3 2009
3.5
-11.0
-14.0
-0.7
-17.1
-16.5
Q4 2009
7.2
-4.0
-10.5
6.1
-7.8
-13.1
Q1 2010
9.2
3.8
-4.9
11.4
3.9
-6.7
Q2 2010
8.7
8.9
0.2
12.6
12.4
-0.2
Q3 2010
4.8
7.4
2.5
6.9
10.2
3.1
Q4 2010
3.3
5.8
2.4
4.9
8.4
3.4
Q1 2011
2.5
5.0
2.4
3.6
7.6
3.9
Q2 2011
0.0
2.2
2.2
-0.5
3.8
4.3
Q3 2011
1.1
2.0
0.8
1.4
3.6
2.2
Q4 2011
-0.2
2.1
2.3
0.1
4.1
3.9
Q1 2012
-0.9
1.9
2.8
0.0
3.8
3.8
Q2 2012
-0.6
1.8
2.5
1.1
4.4
3.2
Q3 2012
-1.9
0.8
2.7
-0.9
2.4
3.4
Q4 2012
-0.6
0.8
1.5
0.3
1.9
1.6
Q1 2013
0.3
1.4
1.2
0.2
1.8
1.6
Q2 2013
1.7
1.9
0.1
1.3
1.7
0.4
Q3 2013
1.7
2.2
0.5
1.8
2.6
0.8
Q4 2013
0.8
2.2
1.4
1.3
3.1
1.8
Q1 2014
0.3
0.7
0.4
1.1
1.7
0.6
Q2 2014
-0.5
1.3
1.8
0.4
2.9
2.4
Q3 2014
-0.4
1.6
1.9
0.3
3.3
3.0
Q4 2014
-1.1
1.0
2.2
-0.3
2.4
2.6
Q1 2015
-1.9
0.3
2.3
-1.3
1.2
2.6
Q2 2015
-2.4
-1.1
1.3
-1.7
-0.8
1.0
Q3 2015
-1.8
-1.3
0.5
-1.2
-1.6
-0.4
Q4 2015
-1.5
-1.7
-0.2
-2.2
-3.0
-0.8
Q1 2016
-0.3
-0.4
-0.1
-1.9
-2.2
-0.3
Q2 2016
-0.3
-0.4
0.0
-1.8
-2.3
-0.5
Q3 2016
-0.7
-0.3
0.5
-1.7
-1.8
-0.1
Q4 2016
0.4
0.5
0.0
0.2
-0.3
-0.4
Q1 2017
-0.3
0.2
0.6
0.2
0.4
0.1
Q2 2017
0.4
1.1
0.7
1.0
1.2
0.2
Q3 2017
-1.0
0.2
1.2
-0.6
0.2
0.8
Q4 2017
-0.4
1.2
1.5
0.2
1.3
1.0
Q1 2018
-0.1
1.5
1.6
0.8
2.1
1.2
Q2 2018
-0.2
1.7
1.9
0.4
2.5
2.1
Q3 2018
1.3
3.4
2.1
2.2
4.6
2.4
Q4 2018
0.6
2.5
1.9
1.5
4.6
3.0
Q1 2019
1.0
1.6
0.6
1.3
2.7
1.4
Q2 2019
0.2
0.1
-0.1
1.2
1.4
0.3
Q3 2019
0.0
-0.6
-0.7
0.7
0.3
-0.4
Q4 2019
-0.2
-1.1
-0.8
0.2
-1.3
-1.4
Q1 2020
-0.1
-2.0
-1.9
-0.5
-3.1
-2.6
Q2 2020
-3.2
-15.5
-12.7
-7.8
-21.4
-14.8
Q3 2020
1.5
-5.5
-6.8
1.6
-6.6
-8.0
Q4 2020
2.7
-2.6
-5.2
3.1
-3.6
-6.4
Q1 2021
2.2
-0.6
-2.8
3.9
0.1
-3.7
Percent change in productivity measures from same quarter in previous year by sector, first quarter 2000 to first quarter 2021 (continued)
Quarter
Nondurable goods labor productivity
Nondurable goods output
Nondurable goods hours worked
Q1 2000
3.7%
1.5%
-2.1%
Q2 2000
3.6
1.6
-1.9
Q3 2000
2.9
1.4
-1.4
Q4 2000
1.4
-1.5
-2.8
Q1 2001
1.4
-2.6
-4.0
Q2 2001
1.6
-4.2
-5.7
Q3 2001
2.3
-3.9
-6.1
Q4 2001
3.5
-2.9
-6.3
Q1 2002
6.3
-0.6
-6.6
Q2 2002
7.5
1.7
-5.4
Q3 2002
8.6
2.7
-5.4
Q4 2002
5.5
2.1
-3.2
Q1 2003
5.5
1.9
-3.4
Q2 2003
4.7
0.3
-4.3
Q3 2003
4.5
-0.5
-4.8
Q4 2003
4.6
0.0
-4.4
Q1 2004
2.7
-0.5
-3.1
Q2 2004
3.8
1.3
-2.4
Q3 2004
4.3
2.5
-1.8
Q4 2004
6.4
3.6
-2.5
Q1 2005
7.9
4.7
-3.0
Q2 2005
7.0
3.9
-3.0
Q3 2005
5.1
1.8
-3.1
Q4 2005
1.7
0.1
-1.6
Q1 2006
-0.2
-0.3
-0.1
Q2 2006
-1.6
-1.1
0.5
Q3 2006
-0.9
0.5
1.4
Q4 2006
2.3
1.2
-1.0
Q1 2007
3.0
1.2
-1.7
Q2 2007
3.1
2.1
-1.0
Q3 2007
3.8
1.8
-1.9
Q4 2007
1.9
1.1
-0.7
Q1 2008
1.3
-1.0
-2.2
Q2 2008
0.1
-3.0
-3.2
Q3 2008
-3.2
-6.1
-3.0
Q4 2008
-2.2
-8.7
-6.6
Q1 2009
-1.6
-10.3
-8.8
Q2 2009
1.1
-9.0
-10.0
Q3 2009
4.8
-5.3
-9.6
Q4 2009
5.3
-1.2
-6.1
Q1 2010
5.2
3.1
-2.0
Q2 2010
4.3
5.1
0.7
Q3 2010
2.9
4.5
1.5
Q4 2010
2.1
3.0
0.9
Q1 2011
1.8
1.8
0.0
Q2 2011
1.2
0.1
-1.1
Q3 2011
1.4
0.0
-1.3
Q4 2011
0.4
0.2
-0.3
Q1 2012
-0.6
0.4
1.0
Q2 2012
-1.2
0.1
1.3
Q3 2012
-1.5
0.0
1.5
Q4 2012
-0.7
0.5
1.3
Q1 2013
0.9
1.4
0.5
Q2 2013
2.4
2.1
-0.2
Q3 2013
1.9
1.8
-0.1
Q4 2013
0.7
1.4
0.6
Q1 2014
-0.2
-0.1
0.1
Q2 2014
-0.4
0.3
0.7
Q3 2014
0.4
0.5
0.1
Q4 2014
-0.7
0.7
1.3
Q1 2015
-1.1
0.7
1.8
Q2 2015
-2.0
-0.1
1.9
Q3 2015
-1.8
0.2
2.1
Q4 2015
-0.3
0.5
0.7
Q1 2016
1.4
1.7
0.3
Q2 2016
0.6
1.4
0.8
Q3 2016
-0.6
0.8
1.5
Q4 2016
-0.2
0.6
0.8
Q1 2017
-1.6
-0.4
1.3
Q2 2017
-0.9
0.6
1.5
Q3 2017
-1.8
-0.1
1.7
Q4 2017
-1.6
0.8
2.4
Q1 2018
-1.7
0.6
2.3
Q2 2018
-1.0
0.6
1.5
Q3 2018
0.3
1.8
1.5
Q4 2018
0.0
0.2
0.1
Q1 2019
1.0
0.3
-0.7
Q2 2019
-0.6
-1.3
-0.7
Q3 2019
-0.5
-1.6
-1.1
Q4 2019
-1.0
-0.8
0.2
Q1 2020
-0.2
-0.8
-0.6
Q2 2020
-0.1
-9.1
-9.0
Q3 2020
0.6
-4.2
-4.8
Q4 2020
1.5
-1.6
-3.0
Q1 2021
0.1
-1.4
-1.4
Business sector productivity rose 4.0 percent from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021.
Manufacturing productivity increased 2.2 percent from the same quarter a year ago, as output decreased 0.6 percent and hours worked decreased 2.8 percent. The 3.9-percent increase in durable goods productivity marked the largest advance since the fourth quarter of 2010. Nondurable goods productivity rose 0.1 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
United States Department of Labor
