Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL 15-2124
8:30 a.m. (EST) Thursday, November 5, 2015
Technical information: (202) 691-5606 dprweb@bls.gov www.bls.gov/lpc
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
Third Quarter 2015, Preliminary
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 1.6-percent annual
rate during the third quarter of 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today, as output increased 1.2 percent and hours worked decreased
0.5 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally
adjusted annual rates.) The decline in hours worked was the first decline in
this series since a 4.8-percent decline in the third quarter of 2009. From
the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015, productivity
increased 0.4 percent, reflecting increases in output and hours worked of
2.3 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. (See table A.)
Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of
real output by an index of hours worked of all persons, including employees,
proprietors, and unpaid family workers.
Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 1.4 percent in the
third quarter of 2015, reflecting a 3.0-percent increase in hourly
compensation and a 1.6-percent increase in productivity. Unit labor costs
increased 2.0 percent over the last four quarters. (See tables A 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.
Nonfarm business sector hours worked declined 0.5 percent in the third
quarter of 2015, reflecting a decline of 0.9 percent in average weekly hours
worked that was partially offset by an increase of 0.5 percent in
employment. The increase in employment--which includes employees,
proprietors, and unpaid family workers--was the smallest since a 0.3-percent
increase in the third quarter of 2010. Over the last four quarters, hours
worked increased 1.9 percent, employment increased 2.2 percent, and average
weekly hours worked declined 0.4 percent.
Manufacturing sector labor productivity increased 4.9 percent in the third
quarter of 2015--the largest gain since a 6.1-percent increase in the third
quarter of 2011--as output increased 2.7 percent and hours worked decreased
2.1 percent. Productivity increased 7.3 percent in the durable goods
manufacturing sector--also the largest gain since the third quarter of 2011,
when this series increased 8.7 percent. Productivity increased 1.3 percent
in the nondurable goods sector. (See tables A, 3, 4, and 5.) Over the last
four quarters, manufacturing productivity increased 1.5 percent, as output
increased 1.8 percent and hours increased 0.4 percent. Unit labor costs in
manufacturing increased 0.9 percent in the third quarter of 2015 and
increased 0.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago. (See tables A 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 previous measures for the second quarter of 2015 are shown in
tables B and C, covering the following major sectors: nonfarm business,
business, manufacturing, and nonfinancial corporations.
In the second quarter of 2015, nonfarm business sector productivity
increased 3.5 percent, rather than 3.3 percent as reported on September 2.
The revised figure reflects a 0.4 percentage point upward revision to output
which was larger than a 0.1 percentage point upward revision to hours
worked. Unit labor costs decreased 1.8 percent during the second quarter--
rather than decreasing 1.4 percent as previously reported--due to both a
0.2 percentage point upward revision to productivity and a 0.1 percentage
point downward revision to hourly compensation. In the manufacturing sector,
productivity growth was revised down to 2.1 percent from a previous estimate
of 2.3 percent, reflecting a small downward revision to output and a small
upward revision to hours. Unit labor costs decreased 2.0 percent rather than
2.2 percent.
Second-quarter 2015 measures of productivity and costs were revised for the
nonfinancial corporate sector. Productivity decreased 0.5 percent rather
than 0.6 percent as reported on September 2. Unit labor costs increased 2.6
percent rather than increasing 2.8 percent as previously reported. (See
table C.)
Complete annual and quarterly data series can be found on the Productivity
and Costs home page: www.bls.gov/lpc/#data.
______________
The revised Productivity and Costs news release for third quarter 2015 is
scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 8:30 a.m. (EST).
=====================================================================================================
Table A. Preliminary third-quarter 2015 measures: percent change from previous quarter at annual rate
(Q to Q) and from same quarter a year ago (Y to Y)
Sector Nonfarm Durable Nondurable
Business Business Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing
Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Labor productivity 1.6 0.4 2.0 0.5 4.9 1.5 7.3 2.0 1.3 0.4
Output 1.2 2.3 1.5 2.4 2.7 1.8 3.5 1.5 1.8 2.2
Hours worked -0.5 1.9 -0.5 1.9 -2.1 0.4 -3.6 -0.5 0.5 1.8
Hourly compensation 3.0 2.4 3.1 2.4 5.9 1.9 5.8 1.7 6.2 2.5
Real hourly
compensation 1.4 2.2 1.5 2.2 4.2 1.8 4.2 1.6 4.5 2.3
Unit labor costs 1.4 2.0 1.1 1.9 0.9 0.5 -1.4 -0.2 4.8 2.1
======================================================================================================
Table B. Revised and previous measures: second quarter 2015
Sector Nonfarm Durable Nondurable
Business Business Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing
Revised Previous Revised Previous Revised Previous Revised Previous Revised Previous
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change, annual rate, second quarter 2015
Labor
productivity 3.5 3.3 3.7 3.5 2.1 2.3 2.6 2.8 1.2 1.2
Output 5.1 4.7 5.0 4.6 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.4
Hours worked 1.5 1.4 1.2 1.1 -0.8 -0.9 -1.4 -1.6 0.1 0.2
Hourly
compensation 1.7 1.8 2.0 2.1 0.0 0.1 -0.3 -0.1 0.7 0.5
Real hourly
compensation -1.2 -1.1 -0.9 -0.8 -2.9 -2.8 -3.1 -3.0 -2.3 -2.4
Unit labor
costs -1.8 -1.4 -1.6 -1.3 -2.0 -2.2 -2.8 -2.9 -0.5 -0.7
======================================================================================================
Table C. Nonfinancial corporations: revised and previous second-quarter 2015 productivity and cost
measures
Real
Labor Hourly hourly Unit Implicit
produc- Hours compen- compen- labor Unit price
tivity Output worked sation sation costs profits deflator
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change, annual rate, second quarter 2015
Q to Q Revised -0.5 0.0 0.4 2.1 -0.8 2.6 8.0 2.4
Q to Q Previous -0.6 -0.2 0.3 2.2 -0.7 2.8 5.6 2.3
======================================================================================================
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 at work using data from the National Compensation
Survey (NCS) for 2001 forward and data from the BLS Hours at Work survey,
conducted for this purpose, for earlier years. 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 correct 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 inputs. Business output accounted for
about 76 percent of the value of GDP in 2014. Nonfarm business, which
excludes farming, accounted for about 75 percent of GDP in 2014.
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 49 percent of the value of GDP in 2014.
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 domestic employees 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 dprweb@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: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and prices,
seasonally adjusted
Real
Output Compen- compen- Unit Implicit
Year per hour Hours sation sation Unit nonlabor price
and of all of all per hour per hour labor payments deflator
quarter persons Output persons (1) (2) costs (3) (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2015 III 2.0 1.5 -0.5 3.1 1.5 1.1 0.5 0.8
II 3.7 r 5.0 r 1.2 r 2.0 r -0.9 r -1.6 r 7.6 r 2.2
I -1.3 0.6 1.9 1.3 4.4 2.6 -3.7 -0.1
2014 ANNUAL 0.6 3.0 2.4 2.6 1.0 2.0 0.6 1.4
2014 IV -2.4 2.6 5.2 3.0 3.9 5.6 -8.2 -0.6
III 2.5 5.5 2.9 2.5 1.3 0.0 2.9 1.2
II 2.9 5.7 2.7 -0.9 -3.2 -3.7 10.6 2.3
I -3.6 -1.7 2.0 5.9 3.7 9.9 -8.5 1.5
2013 ANNUAL 0.4 2.0 1.6 1.2 -0.2 0.8 2.4 1.5
2013 IV 3.4 5.1 1.7 2.1 0.7 -1.2 4.4 1.2
III 1.3 3.9 2.5 0.5 -1.8 -0.9 5.3 1.7
II 0.6 1.6 1.0 6.3 6.5 5.7 -5.6 0.6
I 1.2 2.5 1.3 -8.6 -9.9 -9.7 18.8 1.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2015 III 0.5 2.4 1.9 2.4 2.2 1.9 -1.1 0.6
II 0.6 3.4 r 2.8 2.2 2.1 r 1.6 r -0.5 r 0.7
I 0.4 3.6 3.2 1.5 1.5 1.1 0.2 0.7
2014 ANNUAL 0.6 3.0 2.4 2.6 1.0 2.0 0.6 1.4
2014 IV -0.2 3.0 3.2 2.6 1.4 2.8 -1.1 1.1
III 1.3 3.6 2.3 2.4 0.6 1.1 2.1 1.5
II 1.0 3.2 2.2 1.9 -0.2 0.9 2.7 1.7
I 0.4 2.2 1.8 3.7 2.2 3.3 -1.3 1.3
2013 ANNUAL 0.4 2.0 1.6 1.2 -0.2 0.8 2.4 1.5
2013 IV 1.6 3.3 1.6 -0.1 -1.3 -1.7 5.4 1.3
III 0.3 2.0 1.7 2.0 0.5 1.7 0.9 1.3
II -0.3 1.2 1.5 2.0 0.6 2.3 0.4 1.5
I 0.1 1.4 1.3 1.1 -0.6 1.0 3.1 1.9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2015 III 106.4 117.6 110.6 113.8 102.6 107.0 112.6 109.3
II 105.8 r 117.2 r 110.7 r 112.9 r 102.3 r 106.7 r 112.4 r 109.1 r
I 104.9 115.8 110.4 112.4 102.5 107.1 110.4 108.5
2014 ANNUAL 105.2 113.9 108.3 111.1 100.7 105.6 112.2 108.4
2014 IV 105.2 115.6 109.9 112.0 101.4 106.5 111.4 108.5
III 105.9 114.8 108.5 111.2 100.4 105.0 113.9 108.7
II 105.2 113.3 107.7 110.5 100.1 105.0 113.1 108.4
I 104.5 111.8 107.0 110.7 100.9 106.0 110.2 107.8
2013 ANNUAL 104.6 110.6 105.7 108.3 99.7 103.6 111.5 106.9
2013 IV 105.4 112.2 106.5 109.2 100.0 103.6 112.7 107.4
III 104.6 110.9 106.0 108.6 99.9 103.9 111.5 107.1
II 104.2 109.8 105.4 108.5 100.3 104.1 110.1 106.6
I 104.1 109.4 105.1 106.8 98.7 102.7 111.7 106.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. November 5, 2015
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 2. Nonfarm business sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and prices,
seasonally adjusted
Real
Output Compen- compen- Unit Implicit
Year per hour Hours sation sation Unit nonlabor price
and of all of all per hour per hour labor payments deflator
quarter persons Output persons (1) (2) costs (3) (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2015 III 1.6 1.2 -0.5 3.0 1.4 1.4 0.1 0.8
II 3.5 r 5.1 r 1.5 r 1.7 r -1.2 r -1.8 r 8.0 r 2.3 r
I -1.1 0.5 1.6 1.5 4.6 2.6 -2.2 0.5
2014 ANNUAL 0.7 3.0 2.3 2.7 1.1 2.0 0.9 1.5
2014 IV -2.2 2.6 4.9 3.4 4.2 5.7 -8.1 -0.5
III 3.1 5.5 2.3 3.2 2.0 0.1 4.1 1.8
II 2.8 5.4 2.5 -0.8 -3.1 -3.5 9.5 1.9
I -3.5 -1.2 2.3 5.5 3.4 9.3 -8.4 1.3
2013 ANNUAL 0.0 1.7 1.7 1.1 -0.4 1.1 2.1 1.5
2013 IV 3.5 5.2 1.7 2.3 0.9 -1.2 5.7 1.7
III 1.4 3.5 2.1 0.9 -1.4 -0.5 5.8 2.2
II 0.1 1.1 1.1 6.3 6.5 6.2 -5.0 1.2
I -0.1 1.7 1.8 -9.2 -10.5 -9.1 16.8 1.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2015 III 0.4 2.3 1.9 2.4 2.2 2.0 -0.7 0.8
II 0.8 r 3.4 r 2.6 2.4 r 2.4 1.6 r 0.3 r 1.0
I 0.6 3.5 2.8 1.8 1.9 1.2 0.6 0.9
2014 ANNUAL 0.7 3.0 2.3 2.7 1.1 2.0 0.9 1.5
2014 IV 0.0 3.0 3.0 2.8 1.6 2.8 -1.0 1.1
III 1.4 3.7 2.2 2.5 0.7 1.1 2.5 1.7
II 1.0 3.2 2.2 1.9 -0.1 0.9 2.9 1.8
I 0.3 2.1 1.8 3.7 2.3 3.4 -0.7 1.6
2013 ANNUAL 0.0 1.7 1.7 1.1 -0.4 1.1 2.1 1.5
2013 IV 1.2 2.9 1.7 -0.1 -1.3 -1.3 5.5 1.6
III -0.2 1.6 1.9 1.9 0.3 2.1 0.5 1.4
II -0.8 1.0 1.8 1.7 0.3 2.5 -0.1 1.4
I -0.2 1.4 1.6 0.8 -0.9 1.0 2.5 1.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2015 III 106.4 117.6 110.5 113.9 102.7 107.1 112.1 109.2
II 105.9 r 117.2 r 110.7 r 113.1 r 102.4 r 106.8 r 112.1 r 109.0 r
I 105.0 115.8 110.2 112.6 102.7 107.2 109.9 108.3
2014 ANNUAL 105.2 114.0 108.4 111.1 100.7 105.7 111.1 107.9
2014 IV 105.3 115.6 109.8 112.2 101.6 106.5 110.5 108.2
III 105.9 114.9 108.5 111.3 100.5 105.1 112.9 108.3
II 105.1 113.4 107.9 110.4 100.0 105.0 111.8 107.8
I 104.4 111.9 107.2 110.6 100.8 106.0 109.3 107.4
2013 ANNUAL 104.4 110.6 105.9 108.2 99.6 103.6 110.1 106.3
2013 IV 105.3 112.2 106.6 109.1 100.0 103.7 111.7 107.0
III 104.4 110.8 106.2 108.5 99.8 104.0 110.2 106.5
II 104.0 109.9 105.6 108.3 100.1 104.1 108.6 106.0
I 104.0 109.6 105.3 106.6 98.6 102.5 110.0 105.7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. November 5, 2015
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 3. Manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted
Real
Output Compen- compen-
Year per hour Hours sation sation Unit
and of all of all per hour per hour labor
quarter persons Output persons (1) (2) costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2015 III 4.9 2.7 -2.1 5.9 4.2 0.9
II 2.1 r 1.2 r -0.8 r 0.0 r -2.9 r -2.0 r
I -0.6 -0.5 0.1 -2.2 0.8 -1.6
2014 ANNUAL 1.3 2.9 1.6 2.7 1.0 1.4
2014 IV -0.4 4.0 4.4 4.3 5.1 4.7
III 2.9 4.4 1.4 2.7 1.5 -0.2
II 2.8 6.3 3.4 -1.8 -4.2 -4.4
I 2.0 1.0 -1.0 8.7 6.5 6.5
2013 ANNUAL 0.7 1.5 0.8 0.2 -1.2 -0.5
2013 IV -0.5 3.4 3.9 -0.3 -1.6 0.2
III -0.9 0.6 1.5 1.0 -1.3 1.9
II 2.5 0.1 -2.3 4.1 4.3 1.6
I 1.1 3.5 2.3 -5.4 -6.7 -6.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2015 III 1.5 1.8 0.4 1.9 1.8 0.5
II 1.0 2.3 1.2 1.2 1.1 0.2
I 1.2 3.5 2.3 0.7 0.8 -0.4
2014 ANNUAL 1.3 2.9 1.6 2.7 1.0 1.4
2014 IV 1.8 3.9 2.0 3.4 2.2 1.5
III 1.8 3.7 1.9 2.2 0.5 0.4
II 0.8 2.8 2.0 1.8 -0.2 1.0
I 0.8 1.3 0.5 3.3 1.9 2.5
2013 ANNUAL 0.7 1.5 0.8 0.2 -1.2 -0.5
2013 IV 0.5 1.9 1.3 -0.2 -1.4 -0.7
III 1.1 1.5 0.4 0.9 -0.6 -0.2
II 1.0 1.2 0.2 0.4 -0.9 -0.6
I 0.1 1.2 1.2 -0.3 -2.0 -0.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2015 III 122.5 131.5 107.4 109.9 99.1 89.7
II 121.0 r 130.6 r 108.0 r 108.4 r 98.1 r 89.5 r
I 120.4 r 130.2 r 108.2 108.4 98.8 90.0 r
2014 ANNUAL 120.0 128.3 106.9 107.9 97.8 89.9
2014 IV 120.6 130.4 108.2 109.0 98.6 90.4
III 120.7 129.1 107.0 107.8 97.4 89.3
II 119.8 127.8 106.6 107.1 97.0 89.4
I 119.0 125.8 105.7 107.6 98.1 90.4
2013 ANNUAL 118.5 124.6 105.2 105.0 96.8 88.7
2013 IV 118.4 125.5 106.0 105.4 96.5 89.0
III 118.6 124.5 105.0 105.4 96.9 88.9
II 118.8 124.3 104.6 105.2 97.3 88.5
I 118.1 124.2 105.2 104.1 96.2 88.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. November 5, 2015
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 4. Durable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted
Real
Output Compen- compen-
Year per hour Hours sation sation Unit
and of all of all per hour per hour labor
quarter persons Output persons (1) (2) costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2015 III 7.3 3.5 -3.6 5.8 4.2 -1.4
II 2.6 r 1.2 -1.4 r -0.3 r -3.1 r -2.8 r
I -2.3 -2.4 -0.1 -3.4 -0.4 -1.1
2014 ANNUAL 1.9 4.2 2.3 2.1 0.5 0.2
2014 IV 0.5 3.9 3.3 5.0 5.9 4.5
III 3.2 6.4 3.1 2.3 1.1 -0.9
II 3.0 8.7 5.5 -2.6 -5.0 -5.5
I 2.6 1.5 -1.1 8.6 6.4 5.8
2013 ANNUAL 0.7 1.8 1.1 -0.4 -1.8 -1.1
2013 IV 0.7 5.5 4.8 -2.5 -3.8 -3.1
III -0.3 1.4 1.7 1.7 -0.6 2.0
II 2.4 -0.3 -2.6 3.5 3.7 1.0
I -0.5 3.4 3.9 -6.7 -8.0 -6.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2015 III 2.0 1.5 -0.5 1.7 1.6 -0.2
II 1.0 2.2 1.2 0.9 0.8 -0.1
I 1.1 4.0 2.9 0.3 0.3 -0.8
2014 ANNUAL 1.9 4.2 2.3 2.1 0.5 0.2
2014 IV 2.3 5.1 2.7 3.2 2.0 0.9
III 2.4 5.5 3.0 1.3 -0.4 -1.0
II 1.5 4.2 2.7 1.2 -0.9 -0.3
I 1.3 2.0 0.7 2.7 1.3 1.4
2013 ANNUAL 0.7 1.8 1.1 -0.4 -1.8 -1.1
2013 IV 0.6 2.5 1.9 -1.1 -2.3 -1.6
III 1.0 1.7 0.7 0.9 -0.6 -0.1
II 0.8 1.1 0.3 -0.1 -1.5 -0.9
I 0.6 2.1 1.5 -1.1 -2.8 -1.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2015 III 127.0 140.0 110.3 108.1 97.5 85.2
II 124.8 r 138.9 r 111.3 r 106.6 r 96.5 r 85.5 r
I 124.0 r 138.4 r 111.7 106.7 97.3 86.1 r
2014 ANNUAL 123.9 136.5 110.2 106.5 96.5 86.0
2014 IV 124.7 139.3 111.7 107.6 97.4 86.3
III 124.5 138.0 110.8 106.3 96.0 85.4
II 123.6 135.9 110.0 105.7 95.8 85.6
I 122.6 133.1 108.5 106.4 97.0 86.8
2013 ANNUAL 121.6 131.0 107.8 104.3 96.1 85.8
2013 IV 121.9 132.6 108.8 104.2 95.5 85.5
III 121.7 130.8 107.5 104.9 96.4 86.2
II 121.8 130.4 107.1 104.5 96.6 85.8
I 121.0 130.4 107.8 103.6 95.7 85.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. November 5, 2015
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 5. Nondurable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted
Real
Output Compen- compen-
Year per hour Hours sation sation Unit
and of all of all per hour per hour labor
quarter persons Output persons (1) (2) costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2015 III 1.3 1.8 0.5 6.2 4.5 4.8
II 1.2 1.3 r 0.1 r 0.7 r -2.3 r -0.5 r
I 1.3 r 1.7 0.4 0.2 3.2 -1.1
2014 ANNUAL 1.0 1.5 0.5 3.7 2.0 2.6
2014 IV -2.1 4.1 6.3 3.1 3.9 5.3
III 3.6 2.1 -1.4 3.2 2.1 -0.4
II 3.7 3.7 0.0 -0.6 -3.0 -4.2
I 1.4 0.4 -0.9 8.8 6.6 7.3
2013 ANNUAL 0.9 1.1 0.2 1.2 -0.2 0.3
2013 IV -1.4 1.0 2.4 4.0 2.5 5.4
III -1.6 -0.4 1.2 -0.3 -2.6 1.3
II 2.1 0.3 -1.8 5.3 5.5 3.1
I 3.6 3.3 -0.3 -3.2 -4.6 -6.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2015 III 0.4 2.2 1.8 2.5 2.3 2.1
II 1.0 2.3 1.3 1.8 r 1.7 0.8 r
I 1.6 2.9 1.3 1.5 1.5 -0.2 r
2014 ANNUAL 1.0 1.5 0.5 3.7 2.0 2.6
2014 IV 1.6 2.6 0.9 3.6 2.4 1.9
III 1.8 1.8 0.0 3.8 2.0 1.9
II 0.5 1.2 0.7 2.9 0.8 2.4
I 0.1 0.4 0.2 4.4 2.9 4.3
2013 ANNUAL 0.9 1.1 0.2 1.2 -0.2 0.3
2013 IV 0.7 1.1 0.4 1.4 0.1 0.7
III 1.3 1.2 -0.1 0.9 -0.6 -0.4
II 1.5 1.5 0.0 1.5 0.1 0.0
I 0.2 0.8 0.6 1.2 -0.5 1.1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2015 III 113.7 116.8 102.7 112.7 101.6 99.1
II 113.3 r 116.3 r 102.6 r 111.0 r 100.5 r 98.0 r
I 113.0 r 115.9 r 102.6 110.8 101.1 98.1 r
2014 ANNUAL 112.3 114.0 101.5 109.8 99.5 97.7
2014 IV 112.6 115.4 102.5 110.8 100.3 98.4
III 113.2 114.3 100.9 109.9 99.3 97.1
II 112.2 113.6 101.3 109.1 98.8 97.2
I 111.2 112.6 101.3 109.2 99.6 98.3
2013 ANNUAL 111.2 112.3 101.0 105.9 97.5 95.3
2013 IV 110.8 112.5 101.5 107.0 98.0 96.5
III 111.2 112.2 100.9 105.9 97.4 95.3
II 111.6 112.3 100.6 106.0 98.0 95.0
I 111.0 112.2 101.1 104.7 96.7 94.2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. November 5, 2015
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 6. Nonfinancial corporate sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, unit profits,
and prices, seasonally adjusted
Real Unit
Output Hourly hourly non- Total Unit Implicit
Year per all- compen- compen- Unit labor unit pro- price
and employee Employee sation sation labor costs cost fits deflator
quarter hour Output hours (1) (2) costs (6) (7) (8) (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2015 II -0.5 r 0.0 r 0.4 r 2.1 r -0.8 r 2.6 r -1.0 r 1.5 r 8.0 r 2.4 r
I -2.1 -0.3 1.8 0.5 3.6 2.6 3.2 2.8 -19.3 -0.8
2014 ANNUAL 0.4 3.2 2.8 2.4 0.8 2.0 -1.4 0.9 -0.4 0.7
2014 IV 3.4 7.4 3.9 1.5 2.3 -1.8 -6.4 -3.3 -6.5 -3.8
III 2.4 5.2 2.7 1.6 0.4 -0.8 -1.1 -0.9 17.2 1.6
II 1.7 6.2 4.4 -1.7 -4.1 -3.3 -3.4 -3.4 27.4 0.5
I -1.7 0.2 2.0 8.4 6.2 10.3 -0.8 6.5 -22.0 1.9
2013 ANNUAL 1.0 3.0 2.0 1.3 -0.2 0.3 -0.2 0.1 4.4 0.8
2013 IV -0.2 2.3 2.4 0.9 -0.5 1.1 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.0
III -2.0 0.5 2.6 -0.3 -2.6 1.7 1.2 1.6 -7.5 0.2
II 4.8 6.0 1.1 4.4 4.6 -0.5 -4.0 -1.6 6.9 -0.4
I -0.5 2.8 3.3 -4.2 -5.6 -3.7 1.8 -1.9 14.6 0.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2015 II 0.8 3.0 2.2 1.4 1.4 0.6 r -1.3 r 0.0 r -1.2 r -0.2
I 1.3 4.6 3.2 0.5 0.5 -0.9 -2.0 -1.2 3.0 -0.6
2014 ANNUAL 0.4 3.2 2.8 2.4 0.8 2.0 -1.4 0.9 -0.4 0.7
2014 IV 1.4 4.7 3.3 2.4 1.1 0.9 -2.9 -0.3 2.1 0.0
III 0.5 3.4 2.9 2.2 0.4 1.7 -1.1 0.8 4.1 1.3
II -0.6 2.3 2.9 1.7 -0.3 2.3 -0.6 1.4 -1.9 0.9
I 0.2 2.2 2.0 3.3 1.9 3.1 -0.7 1.8 -6.1 0.7
2013 ANNUAL 1.0 3.0 2.0 1.3 -0.2 0.3 -0.2 0.1 4.4 0.8
2013 IV 0.5 2.9 2.4 0.1 -1.1 -0.4 -0.1 -0.3 3.4 0.3
III 2.0 4.2 2.2 1.8 0.3 -0.2 -1.2 -0.5 4.3 0.2
II 1.2 3.1 1.9 1.9 0.5 0.7 -0.4 0.3 4.8 1.0
I 0.1 1.9 1.8 1.3 -0.4 1.1 0.9 1.0 5.2 1.6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 2009=100
2015 II 108.7 r 122.4 r 112.6 r 111.7 r 101.2 r 102.8 r 95.7 r 100.4 r 146.0 r 105.2 r
I 108.8 122.4 112.4 111.2 101.4 102.1 95.9 100.0 143.2 104.6
2014 ANNUAL 108.3 119.6 110.5 110.6 100.2 102.1 96.6 100.3 148.0 105.3
2014 IV 109.4 122.5 111.9 111.0 100.5 101.5 95.1 99.4 151.1 104.8
III 108.5 120.3 110.9 110.6 99.9 101.9 96.7 100.2 153.7 105.8
II 107.9 118.8 110.1 110.2 99.8 102.1 97.0 100.4 147.7 105.4
I 107.4 117.0 108.9 110.7 100.9 103.0 97.8 101.3 139.0 105.2
2013 ANNUAL 107.9 116.0 107.5 108.0 99.5 100.1 98.0 99.4 148.5 104.6
2013 IV 107.9 117.0 108.4 108.5 99.4 100.5 98.0 99.7 148.0 104.7
III 107.9 116.3 107.7 108.2 99.5 100.2 97.8 99.4 147.6 104.5
II 108.5 116.1 107.1 108.3 100.1 99.8 97.5 99.1 150.5 104.4
I 107.2 114.5 106.8 107.1 99.0 99.9 98.5 99.5 148.0 104.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. November 5, 2015
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
–1.6 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 second quarter of 2015.
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 1978-2014 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
