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PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
Third Quarter 2008, revised
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today
reported revised productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all
persons--for the third quarter of 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual rates
of productivity growth in the third quarter were:
1.5 percent in the business sector and
1.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector.
In both sectors, hours were revised down more than output, leading to
productivity increases which are 0.2 percentage point higher than in
preliminary estimates published November 6.
In manufacturing, revised productivity changes in the third quarter
were:
-2.7 percent in manufacturing,
2.9 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and
-10.2 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity fell 1.7 percentage points
more than was reported on November 6, as a 2.0 percent downward revision to
output was partially offset by a 0.4 percent downward revision to hours.
Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 12 percent of U.S.
business sector employment, tend to vary more from quarter to quarter than
data for the aggregate business and nonfarm business sectors. Third-quarter
measures are summarized in table A and appear in detail in tables 1 through
5.
The data sources and methods used in the preparation of the
manufacturing series differ from those used in preparing the business and
nonfarm business series, and these measures are not directly comparable.
Output measures for business and nonfarm business are based on measures of
gross domestic product prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the
U.S. Department of Commerce. Quarterly output measures for manufacturing
reflect indexes of industrial production independently prepared by the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See Technical Notes for further
information on data sources.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table A. Productivity and costs: Revised third-quarter 2008 measures
(Seasonally adjusted annual rates)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real
Hourly hourly Unit
Produc- compen- compen- labor
Sector tivity Output Hours sation sation costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from preceding quarter
Business 1.5 -1.7 -3.2 4.2 -2.4 2.6
Nonfarm business 1.3 -1.9 -3.1 4.1 -2.4 2.8
Manufacturing -2.7 -7.8 -5.3 4.7 -1.9 7.6
Durable 2.9 -5.8 -8.4 6.1 -0.6 3.1
Nondurable -10.2 -9.8 0.4 2.6 -3.8 14.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from same quarter a year ago
Business 1.9 0.2 -1.6 3.3 -1.8 1.4
Nonfarm business 2.1 0.3 -1.8 3.5 -1.6 1.4
Manufacturing 0.6 -3.2 -3.8 4.6 -0.6 4.0
Durable 1.8 -2.9 -4.6 5.0 -0.3 3.2
Nondurable -1.2 -3.6 -2.4 4.0 -1.2 5.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Business
Business sector productivity grew at a 1.5 percent annual rate during
the third quarter of 2008, less than the 1.9 percent rate of growth from the
third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008 and the 2.5 percent
average annual rate from 2000 to 2007. Productivity growth in the third
quarter was the result of hours worked falling faster than output. The hours
decline of 3.2 percent was the largest since the fourth quarter of 2001 (4.2
percent), and the output decline of 1.7 percent was the largest since the
third quarter of 2001 (3.1 percent).
Hourly compensation in the business sector increased 4.2 percent during
the third quarter of 2008, following a 1.2 percent increase in the second
quarter (seasonally adjusted annual rates). This series includes accrued
wages and salaries, supplements, employer contributions to employee benefit
plans, and taxes. Real hourly compensation fell 2.4 percent, the fourth
consecutive quarter in which it declined. This reflected the 6.7 percent
increase in consumer prices during the third quarter, the fastest growth
since a similar increase in the third quarter of 1990.
The revised 2.6 percent third quarter increase in unit labor costs
reverses the 2.4 percent decline in the second quarter. Unit labor costs
increased 1.4 percent over the past four quarters. The change in unit labor
costs approximates the change in hourly compensation less the change in
productivity. The implicit price deflator for the business sector, which
reflects changes in both unit labor costs and unit nonlabor payments, grew
4.5 percent in the third quarter of 2008. This was its fastest growth since
the first quarter of 1990 (4.6 percent).
Nonfarm business
Productivity in the nonfarm business sector rose at a 1.3 percent annual
rate in the third quarter of 2008, slower than the 2.1 percent rate over the
last four quarters, and slower than the trend rate of 2.5 percent per year
from 2000 to 2007. As revised, output fell 1.9 percent and hours fell 3.1
percent in the third quarter of 2008; the two measures had not declined as
quickly since the third quarter of 2001 and the first quarter of 2002,
respectively.
Hourly compensation in the nonfarm business sector rose 4.1 percent in
the third quarter of 2008. This rate is similar to trends in recent years;
hourly compensation grew between 3.6 percent and 4.1 percent each year since
2001. As in the business sector, real hourly compensation decreased 2.4
percent in nonfarm business during the third quarter, due to the increase in
consumer prices.
Nonfarm business unit labor costs increased 2.8 percent in the third
quarter of 2008. Over the last four quarters unit labor costs increased 1.4
percent. The implicit price deflator for the nonfarm business sector rose
4.9 percent in the third quarter, more than in any quarter since the third
quarter of 1982 (5.0 percent).
Manufacturing
Manufacturing output per hour fell 2.7 percent in the third quarter of
2008, as output fell 7.8 percent and hours fell 5.3 percent. This is the
largest quarterly decline in productivity in the entire series, going back to
the second quarter of 1987. The decline in output was the largest since the
first quarter of 1991, when output fell 8.0 percent. Third quarter 2008 saw
the second consecutive quarter of negative manufacturing productivity growth;
revised output per hour for the second quarter of 2008 fell 2.2 percent.
The third-quarter decline in manufacturing productivity was driven by a
10.2 percent decline in nondurable goods productivity; output per hour in
durable goods industries increased 2.9 percent. The quarterly drop in
nondurable goods productivity is the largest in the series. Nondurable goods
output fell by 9.8 percent, 2.8 percentage points more than reported on
November 6. In contrast to the large decline in output, hours in nondurable
manufacturing rose slightly during the quarter, 0.4 percent (table 5).
In durable goods industries, a 5.8 percent decline in output was
outpaced by an 8.4 percent drop in hours, yielding a productivity increase of
2.9 percent (table 4). The declines in output and hours in durable
manufacturing had not been as large since the fourth quarter of 2001, when
output fell 9.9 percent and hours dropped 14.5 percent. Complete historical
series can be found on the productivity and costs homepage:
http://www.bls.gov/lpc/#data.
The average hourly compensation of all manufacturing workers rose 4.7
percent in the third quarter of 2008, and increased more in the durable goods
sector, 6.1 percent, than in the nondurable goods sector, 2.6 percent. Real
hourly compensation for all manufacturing workers declined 1.9 percent in the
third quarter, following declines of 0.5 percent and 2.7 percent in the first
and second quarters of 2008.
Both the decrease in productivity and the increase in hourly
compensation contributed to a 7.6 percent increase in unit labor costs in
manufacturing during the third quarter--much higher than the 4.0 percent
increase over the last four quarters and the 0.3 percent rate from 2000 to
2007. Unit labor costs increased 3.1 percent in durable goods industries and
14.3 percent in nondurable goods industries during the third quarter.
Nonfinancial Corporations
Third-quarter 2008 measures of productivity and costs also were released
for nonfinancial corporations (tables B and 6). Output per all-employee hour
grew at a 4.9 percent annual rate, with output rising 1.8 percent and hours
of all employees falling 3.0 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates).
Over the last four quarters nonfinancial corporate sector productivity
increased 3.5 percent. This sector includes all corporations doing business
in the United States, except those classified as depository institutions,
nondepository institutions, security and commodity brokers, insurance
carriers, regulated investment offices, small business investment offices,
and real estate investment trusts.
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Table B. Nonfinancial corporations: Third-quarter 2008 productivity and cost
measures
(Seasonally adjusted annual rates)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real
Hourly hourly Unit Implicit
Produc- compen- compen- labor Unit price
Period tivity Output Hours sation sation costs profits deflator
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from preceding quarter
2008 III 4.9 1.8 -3.0 5.0 -1.6 0.1 24.6 4.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from same quarter a year ago
2008 III 3.5 2.0 -1.4 4.0 -1.2 0.5 -6.7 0.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hourly compensation increased 5.0 percent during the third quarter, but
when consumer prices are taken into account, real hourly compensation
declined 1.6 percent. Real hourly compensation declined 1.2 percent since
the third quarter of 2007.
Unit labor costs in the nonfinancial corporate sector remained steady,
increasing just 0.1 percent during the third quarter of 2008; unit nonlabor
costs increased 5.8 percent, and unit profits rose 24.6 percent (seasonally
adjusted annual rates). As a result of these movements, the implicit price
deflator for the output of nonfinancial corporations--which reflects a
weighted average of these three measures--rose 4.0 percent.
Revised Measures
Current and previous measures for second and third quarters of 2008 for
the business, nonfarm business, and manufacturing sectors are compared in
table C. In the third quarter, revised estimates of productivity growth in
the business and nonfarm business sectors are higher than those reported
November 6, as downward revisions to hours were larger than downward
revisions to output. Manufacturing productivity had a large downward
revision in the third quarter as the downward revision to output outweighed
the downward revision to hours.
Hourly compensation was revised down in all three sectors. In the
business and nonfarm business sectors unit labor costs rose 2.6 percent and
2.8 percent, respectively, in the third quarter. This is 0.8 percent lower
than previously reported, reflecting both the downward revision to hourly
compensation and the upward revision to productivity. Hourly compensation
was also revised down in manufacturing, but the large downward revision in
manufacturing productivity resulted in an upward revision to unit labor
costs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table C. Previous and revised productivity and related measures:
Quarterly percent change at seasonally adjusted annual rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real
Hourly hourly Unit
Produc- compen- compen- labor
Sector tivity Output Hours sation sation costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Third quarter 2008
Business:
Previous 1.3 -1.5 -2.8 4.7 -1.9 3.4
Revised 1.5 -1.7 -3.2 4.2 -2.4 2.6
Nonfarm business:
Previous 1.1 -1.7 -2.7 4.7 -1.9 3.6
Revised 1.3 -1.9 -3.1 4.1 -2.4 2.8
Manufacturing:
Previous -1.0 -5.8 -4.9 5.0 -1.6 6.1
Revised -2.7 -7.8 -5.3 4.7 -1.9 7.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second quarter 2008
Business:
Previous 3.7 2.6 -1.0 3.8 -1.2 0.1
Revised 3.7 2.6 -1.0 1.2 -3.7 -2.4
Nonfarm business:
Previous 3.6 2.8 -0.8 3.5 -1.4 -0.1
Revised 3.6 2.8 -0.8 0.9 -3.9 -2.6
Manufacturing:
Previous -1.9 -3.4 -1.5 3.8 -1.2 5.8
Revised -2.2 -3.7 -1.5 2.2 -2.7 4.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There were also revisions to second quarter data for the business,
nonfarm business, and manufacturing sectors. Hourly compensation, real
hourly compensation, and unit labor costs were revised in all three of these
sectors to reflect new information on employee compensation published by the
Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce on November
25. Hourly compensation growth was revised down 2.6 percent in the business
and nonfarm business sectors, leading to similar downward revisions to real
hourly compensation and unit labor costs. Second-quarter increases in
manufacturing hourly compensation and unit labor costs were revised down to
2.2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
Manufacturing output in the second quarter was revised due to revised
indexes of industrial production from the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve. The downward revision of 0.3 percentage point led to a similar
downward revision to manufacturing productivity.
Revised measures: Nonfinancial corporations
Measures for the nonfinancial corporate sector also were revised to
reflect updated information on output and employee compensation during
second-quarter 2008 (table D). Output and productivity were revised down by
0.9 percentage point, and hours declined at the same rate reported November
6. Hourly compensation growth was revised down by 1.4 percentage points, and
because hourly compensation was revised downward more than productivity, unit
labor costs fell faster than previously reported, at a rate of 5.0 percent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table D. Nonfinancial corporations: Previous and revised productivity and
cost measures
Quarterly percent changes at seasonally adjusted annual rates
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real
Hourly hourly Unit Implicit
Produc- compen- compen- labor Unit price
tivity Output Hours sation sation costs profits deflator
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second quarter 2008
Previous 8.6 6.9 -1.6 3.7 -1.3 -4.6 -8.4 -3.9
Revised 7.7 6.0 -1.6 2.3 -2.6 -5.0 -7.7 -3.8
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Next release date
The next release of Productivity and Costs is scheduled for 8:30 AM EST,
Thursday, February 5, 2009. Preliminary fourth-quarter and annual 2008
measures for the business, nonfarm business, and manufacturing sectors will
be released at that time.
Scheduled release dates for productivity and costs measures for major
sectors of the U.S. economy in 2009 are:
==============================================================================
Reference period 2009 release date
2008:
Fourth quarter, Annual February 5
Fourth quarter, Annual (revised) March 5
2009:
First quarter May 7
First quarter (revised) June 4
Second quarter August 11
Second quarter (revised) September 2
Third quarter November 5
Third quarter (revised) December 3
==============================================================================
These dates are based on presently available schedules for the release
of underlying source data in 2009. Each issue of Productivity and Costs
contains a "Next release date" paragraph that readers should use to confirm
the dates above.
TECHNICAL NOTES
Labor Hours: Hours data for the labor productivity and cost measures include
hours 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. 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). The BLS Hours at Work survey, conducted for this
purpose, was used 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 for farm labor, nonfarm proprietors, and
nonfarm unpaid family workers. Estimates of labor input 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.
The CES measures jobs, counting a person who is employed by two or more
establishments at each place of employment. In contrast, the CPS features
measures of employment that count each person only once and classify each
person according to his or her primary job; hours worked at all jobs by that
person accrue to his or her primary job. However, the CPS also collects more
detailed information on employment and hours worked at primary jobs and all
other jobs, separately. The BLS productivity measures use the more detailed
information on employment and hours to assign all hours worked to the correct
industrial sector and avoid duplicating hours data from the CES.
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 78 percent of the value of
GDP in 2000. Nonfarm business, which excludes farming, accounted for about 77
percent of GDP in 2000.
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 index 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. Durables include the following 3-digit NAICS industries: wood product
manufacturing; nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing; primary metal
manufacturing; fabricated metal product manufacturing; machinery
manufacturing; computer and electronic product manufacturing; electrical
equipment and appliance manufacturing; transportation equipment
manufacturing; furniture and related product manufacturing; and miscellaneous
manufacturing. Nondurables include: food manufacturing; beverage and tobacco
product manufacturing; textile mills; textile product mills; apparel
manufacturing; leather and allied product manufacturing; paper manufacturing;
printing and related support activities; petroleum and coal products
manufacturing; chemical manufacturing; and plastics and rubber products
manufacturing.
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
54 percent of the value of GDP in 2000.
Productivity: These productivity measures describe the relationship between
real output and the labor time involved in its production. They show the
changes from period to period in the amount of goods and services produced
per hour. Although these measures relate output to hours at work of all
persons engaged in a sector, they do not measure the specific contribution of
labor, capital, or any other factor of production. Rather, 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: 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: The measures of unit labor costs in this release describe
the relationship between compensation per hour and 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 index number series where 1992=100, as percent changes from
the corresponding quarter of the previous year, and as percent changes from
the previous quarter presented at a compound annual rate. 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. These index numbers are available at the BLS web site,
http://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)
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
Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit Unit non- Implicit
and hour of of all tion per tion per labor labor pay- price
quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs ments (3) deflator (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 1992=100
2006 I 136.1 162.8 119.6 168.0 120.7 123.5 133.4 127.2
II 136.6 164.0 120.1 168.1 119.7 123.1 136.2 128.0
III 135.9 164.1 120.8 169.0 119.1 124.3 136.2 128.8
IV 135.9 164.8 121.2 172.6 122.1 127.0 133.4 129.4
ANNUAL 136.1 163.9 120.4 169.5 120.4 124.5 134.8 128.3
2007 I 135.9 164.5 121.0 174.7 122.4 128.5 134.3 130.7
II 137.6 166.8 121.2 175.5 121.6 127.5 137.4 131.2
III 139.7 169.0 121.0 177.0 121.9 126.7 139.7 131.6
IV 139.7 168.8 120.8 178.9 121.7 128.1 139.2 132.2
ANNUAL 138.2 167.3 121.0 176.5 121.9 127.7 137.7 131.4
2008 I 140.5 169.1 120.3 180.6 121.5 128.5 140.2 132.9
II 141.8 170.2 120.0 r181.1 r120.4 r127.7 r142.3 133.2
III r142.3 r169.4 r119.1 r182.9 r119.7 r128.6 r144.9 r134.7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2006 I 2.6 5.6 3.0 5.5 3.6 2.8 3.1 3.0
II 1.4 2.9 1.5 0.2 -3.3 -1.2 8.6 2.6
III -2.0 0.3 2.4 2.0 -1.9 4.1 -0.1 2.4
IV 0.2 1.7 1.5 9.0 10.6 8.8 -8.0 1.9
ANNUAL 0.9 3.0 2.1 3.8 0.5 2.9 3.3 3.0
2007 I -0.1 -0.7 -0.6 4.8 1.1 4.8 2.8 4.0
II 5.0 5.6 0.6 1.9 -2.6 -2.9 9.6 1.7
III 6.2 5.5 -0.7 3.6 0.8 -2.5 6.9 1.1
IV 0.1 -0.6 -0.7 4.4 -0.6 4.3 -1.6 2.0
ANNUAL 1.5 2.0 0.5 4.2 1.3 2.6 2.1 2.4
2008 I 2.3 0.7 -1.6 3.6 -0.6 1.3 3.1 2.0
II 3.7 2.6 -1.0 r1.2 r-3.7 r-2.4 r6.1 0.9
III r1.5 r-1.7 r-3.2 r4.2 r-2.4 r2.6 r7.4 4.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2006 I 1.3 3.6 2.3 4.3 0.5 2.9 3.9 3.3
II 1.7 3.5 1.8 4.0 0.1 2.3 5.2 3.4
III 0.2 2.4 2.2 2.9 -0.4 2.7 3.5 3.0
IV 0.5 2.6 2.1 4.1 2.1 3.6 0.7 2.5
ANNUAL 0.9 3.0 2.1 3.8 0.5 2.9 3.3 3.0
2007 I -0.1 1.0 1.2 3.9 1.5 4.1 0.7 2.7
II 0.7 1.7 1.0 4.4 1.7 3.6 0.9 2.5
III 2.8 3.0 0.2 4.8 2.4 1.9 2.6 2.2
IV 2.8 2.4 -0.3 3.7 -0.3 0.9 4.3 2.2
ANNUAL 1.5 2.0 0.5 4.2 1.3 2.6 2.1 2.4
2008 I 3.4 2.8 -0.6 3.4 -0.7 0.0 4.4 1.7
II 3.0 2.0 -1.0 r3.2 r-1.0 r0.2 r3.6 1.5
III r1.9 r0.2 r-1.6 r3.3 r-1.8 r1.4 r3.7 2.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. December 3, 2008
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 2. Nonfarm business sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs,
and prices, seasonally adjusted
Real
Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit Unit non- Implicit
and hour of of all tion per tion per labor labor pay- price
quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs ments (3) deflator (4)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 1992=100
2006 I 135.1 163.2 120.8 166.8 119.8 123.5 135.5 127.9
II 135.7 164.3 121.1 167.1 118.9 123.2 138.6 128.8
III 135.0 164.4 121.8 167.9 118.3 124.4 138.3 129.5
IV 135.0 165.0 122.2 171.7 121.4 127.1 134.8 130.0
ANNUAL 135.2 164.2 121.5 168.4 119.6 124.6 136.8 129.1
2007 I 135.0 164.7 122.0 173.7 121.8 128.7 135.2 131.1
II 136.4 167.0 122.4 174.1 120.7 127.7 138.2 131.5
III 138.3 169.2 122.3 175.5 120.8 126.9 140.3 131.8
IV 138.6 168.9 121.9 177.8 120.9 128.3 139.8 132.5
ANNUAL 137.1 167.5 122.2 175.3 121.1 127.9 138.4 131.7
2008 I 139.5 169.3 121.4 179.5 120.8 128.7 141.0 133.2
II 140.8 170.5 121.1 r179.9 r119.6 r127.8 r143.3 133.5
III r141.2 r169.7 r120.2 r181.7 r118.9 r128.7 r146.2 r135.1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2006 I 2.5 6.0 3.3 5.2 3.3 2.6 3.9 3.1
II 1.8 2.9 1.1 0.7 -2.8 -1.1 9.4 2.9
III -2.1 0.3 2.4 1.9 -2.0 4.1 -0.9 2.1
IV 0.2 1.4 1.2 9.3 11.0 9.1 -9.5 1.5
ANNUAL 1.0 3.2 2.2 3.8 0.5 2.8 3.6 3.1
2007 I 0.0 -0.9 -0.8 4.9 1.2 4.9 0.9 3.4
II 4.1 5.8 1.6 0.8 -3.6 -3.2 9.4 1.5
III 5.8 5.5 -0.3 3.3 0.5 -2.4 6.3 0.9
IV 0.8 -0.7 -1.6 5.3 0.3 4.5 -1.5 2.1
ANNUAL 1.4 2.0 0.5 4.1 1.3 2.7 1.2 2.1
2008 I 2.6 0.9 -1.7 3.8 -0.4 1.2 3.6 2.1
II 3.6 2.8 -0.8 r0.9 r-3.9 r-2.6 r6.6 0.9
III r1.3 r-1.9 r-3.1 r4.1 r-2.4 r2.8 r8.3 r4.9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2006 I 1.3 3.7 2.4 4.2 0.5 2.9 4.3 3.4
II 1.7 3.7 2.0 3.9 0.0 2.2 5.9 3.6
III 0.3 2.6 2.3 2.9 -0.5 2.6 3.8 3.1
IV 0.6 2.6 2.0 4.3 2.2 3.6 0.5 2.4
ANNUAL 1.0 3.2 2.2 3.8 0.5 2.8 3.6 3.1
2007 I 0.0 0.9 1.0 4.2 1.7 4.2 -0.2 2.5
II 0.5 1.6 1.1 4.2 1.5 3.7 -0.2 2.1
III 2.5 2.9 0.4 4.5 2.1 2.0 1.5 1.8
IV 2.7 2.4 -0.3 3.6 -0.4 0.9 3.7 2.0
ANNUAL 1.4 2.0 0.5 4.1 1.3 2.7 1.2 2.1
2008 I 3.3 2.8 -0.5 3.3 -0.8 0.0 4.3 1.6
II 3.2 2.1 -1.1 r3.3 r-0.9 r0.1 r3.7 1.5
III r2.1 0.3 r-1.8 r3.5 r-1.6 r1.4 r4.2 2.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. December 3, 2008
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 3. Manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted
Real
Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit
and hour of of all tion per tion per labor
quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 1992=100
2006 I 172.6 147.2 85.3 170.9 122.7 99.0
II 172.7 147.4 85.4 169.5 120.7 98.2
III 174.5 148.0 84.8 170.3 120.0 97.6
IV 175.4 147.4 84.0 174.6 123.5 99.5
ANNUAL 173.8 147.5 84.9 171.3 121.7 98.6
2007 I 177.0 147.8 83.5 176.9 124.0 100.0
II 178.7 149.6 83.7 176.4 122.3 98.7
III 180.6 151.2 83.7 176.4 121.4 97.6
IV 182.5 151.0 82.8 179.7 122.2 98.5
ANNUAL 179.7 149.9 83.4 177.3 122.5 98.7
2008 I 184.0 150.7 81.9 181.4 122.1 98.6
II r183.0 r149.3 81.6 r182.4 r121.3 r99.7
III r181.7 r146.3 r80.5 r184.5 r120.7 r101.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2006 I -0.6 1.8 2.4 14.3 12.3 15.0
II 0.2 0.6 0.4 -3.1 -6.5 -3.3
III 4.3 1.6 -2.5 1.8 -2.1 -2.3
IV 2.2 -1.7 -3.8 10.4 12.1 8.0
ANNUAL 1.1 1.8 0.8 4.1 0.8 3.0
2007 I 3.6 1.2 -2.3 5.5 1.8 1.8
II 3.8 4.9 1.0 -1.1 -5.5 -4.8
III 4.5 4.3 -0.2 -0.1 -2.8 -4.4
IV 4.2 -0.4 -4.4 7.8 2.7 3.4
ANNUAL 3.4 1.6 -1.7 3.5 0.7 0.1
2008 I 3.3 -0.8 -4.0 3.8 -0.5 0.5
II r-2.2 r-3.7 -1.5 r2.2 r-2.7 r4.5
III r-2.7 r-7.8 r-5.3 r4.7 r-1.9 r7.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2006 I 1.5 2.4 0.9 5.4 1.6 3.8
II 0.4 2.1 1.7 3.3 -0.6 2.9
III 0.9 2.3 1.4 2.3 -1.0 1.4
IV 1.5 0.6 -0.9 5.6 3.6 4.1
ANNUAL 1.1 1.8 0.8 4.1 0.8 3.0
2007 I 2.6 0.4 -2.1 3.5 1.1 0.9
II 3.5 1.5 -1.9 4.1 1.4 0.6
III 3.5 2.1 -1.3 3.6 1.2 0.0
IV 4.0 2.5 -1.5 2.9 -1.0 -1.1
ANNUAL 3.4 1.6 -1.7 3.5 0.7 0.1
2008 I 4.0 2.0 -1.9 2.5 -1.6 -1.4
II r2.4 r-0.2 -2.5 r3.4 r-0.8 r0.9
III r0.6 r-3.2 r-3.8 r4.6 r-0.6 r4.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. December 3, 2008
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 4. Durable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted
Real
Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit
and hour of of all tion per tion per labor
quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 1992=100
2006 I 198.8 179.6 90.3 166.0 119.2 83.5
II 198.9 180.5 90.7 164.6 117.1 82.7
III 201.7 181.1 89.8 165.3 116.5 81.9
IV 202.4 180.1 89.0 170.2 120.4 84.1
ANNUAL 200.4 180.3 90.0 166.5 118.3 83.1
2007 I 204.4 180.3 88.2 173.0 121.3 84.7
II 207.9 183.9 88.4 172.5 119.6 83.0
III 210.9 186.9 88.6 172.2 118.6 81.7
IV 214.3 187.0 87.3 175.5 119.4 81.9
ANNUAL 209.4 184.5 88.1 173.3 119.7 82.8
2008 I 215.5 186.9 86.7 176.6 118.9 82.0
II r213.1 r184.2 86.4 r178.1 r118.4 r83.6
III r214.7 r181.5 r84.5 r180.8 r118.3 r84.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2006 I -1.8 0.4 2.3 13.7 11.7 15.9
II 0.3 2.1 1.8 -3.3 -6.6 -3.6
III 5.7 1.2 -4.3 1.6 -2.3 -3.9
IV 1.4 -2.1 -3.4 12.6 14.4 11.1
ANNUAL 2.2 3.3 1.1 3.9 0.6 1.7
2007 I 3.9 0.4 -3.4 6.7 3.0 2.7
II 7.1 8.2 1.0 -1.2 -5.5 -7.7
III 6.0 6.8 0.8 -0.7 -3.3 -6.2
IV 6.6 0.3 -6.0 7.9 2.8 1.2
ANNUAL 4.5 2.3 -2.0 4.1 1.3 -0.3
2008 I 2.1 -0.4 -2.5 2.5 -1.7 0.4
II r-4.3 -5.6 -1.4 r3.5 r-1.5 r8.1
III r2.9 r-5.8 r-8.4 r6.1 r-0.6 r3.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2006 I 3.2 4.8 1.6 4.9 1.1 1.6
II 2.0 4.6 2.5 3.1 -0.8 1.1
III 2.2 3.6 1.4 1.9 -1.5 -0.4
IV 1.4 0.4 -1.0 5.9 3.9 4.5
ANNUAL 2.2 3.3 1.1 3.9 0.6 1.7
2007 I 2.8 0.4 -2.4 4.3 1.8 1.4
II 4.5 1.8 -2.5 4.8 2.1 0.3
III 4.6 3.2 -1.3 4.2 1.8 -0.3
IV 5.9 3.9 -1.9 3.1 -0.8 -2.6
ANNUAL 4.5 2.3 -2.0 4.1 1.3 -0.3
2008 I 5.4 3.7 -1.7 2.1 -2.0 -3.2
II 2.5 0.2 -2.3 r3.3 r-1.0 r0.7
III r1.8 r-2.9 r-4.6 r5.0 r-0.3 r3.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. December 3, 2008
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 5. Nondurable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
seasonally adjusted
Real
Year Output per Hours Compensa- compensa- Unit
and hour of of all tion per tion per labor
quarter all persons Output persons hour (1) hour (2) costs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 1992=100
2006 I 148.0 115.0 77.7 178.0 127.8 120.2
II 148.4 114.8 77.3 176.6 125.7 119.0
III 149.0 115.4 77.4 177.8 125.3 119.3
IV 150.3 115.1 76.6 180.4 127.6 120.0
ANNUAL 148.9 115.1 77.2 178.2 126.6 119.6
2007 I 151.2 115.6 76.5 181.9 127.5 120.3
II 151.4 116.0 76.6 181.4 125.8 119.9
III 152.7 116.4 76.3 181.8 125.2 119.1
IV 152.9 116.1 75.9 185.3 126.0 121.2
ANNUAL 152.0 116.0 76.3 182.6 126.1 120.1
2008 I 155.0 115.7 74.6 188.0 126.5 121.3
II r155.0 r115.2 74.3 r187.9 r124.9 r121.2
III r150.9 r112.3 r74.4 r189.1 r123.7 r125.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2006 I 1.0 3.6 2.6 15.5 13.4 14.4
II 1.1 -0.9 -1.9 -3.1 -6.5 -4.1
III 1.5 2.2 0.6 2.6 -1.4 1.1
IV 3.5 -1.1 -4.4 6.1 7.7 2.5
ANNUAL 0.2 0.3 0.1 4.5 1.1 4.3
2007 I 2.5 2.0 -0.5 3.3 -0.3 0.8
II 0.4 1.3 0.9 -1.0 -5.3 -1.4
III 3.5 1.6 -1.9 0.7 -2.0 -2.7
IV 0.6 -1.1 -1.7 7.9 2.8 7.3
ANNUAL 2.1 0.9 -1.2 2.5 -0.3 0.4
2008 I 5.8 -1.3 -6.7 6.0 1.7 0.3
II r0.0 r-1.7 -1.7 r-0.3 r-5.0 r-0.3
III r-10.2 r-9.8 0.4 r2.6 r-3.8 r14.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2006 I 0.2 -0.1 -0.3 6.2 2.4 6.0
II -0.7 -0.6 0.1 3.5 -0.4 4.2
III -0.4 1.0 1.4 3.1 -0.2 3.6
IV 1.8 0.9 -0.8 5.1 3.0 3.2
ANNUAL 0.2 0.3 0.1 4.5 1.1 4.3
2007 I 2.1 0.5 -1.6 2.2 -0.2 0.0
II 2.0 1.1 -0.9 2.7 0.1 0.7
III 2.5 0.9 -1.5 2.3 -0.1 -0.2
IV 1.7 0.9 -0.8 2.7 -1.2 1.0
ANNUAL 2.1 0.9 -1.2 2.5 -0.3 0.4
2008 I 2.5 0.1 -2.4 3.4 -0.8 0.8
II r2.4 r-0.7 -3.0 r3.6 r-0.7 r1.1
III r-1.2 r-3.6 r-2.4 r4.0 r-1.2 r5.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. December 3, 2008
r=revised Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 6. Nonfinancial corporate sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, unit profits,
and prices, seasonally adjusted
Output Hourly Real Unit Total Unit Implicit
Year per all- compen- hourly Unit non- unit pro- price
and employee Employee sation compen- labor labor costs fits deflator
quarter hour Output hours (1) sation(2) costs costs(6) (7) (8) (4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indexes 1992=100
2006 I 146.3 176.2 120.4 164.5 118.1 112.4 112.9 112.5 182.5 118.8
II 146.0 176.5 120.9 164.5 117.0 112.6 114.4 113.1 183.1 119.4
III 147.0 178.5 121.5 165.1 116.3 112.3 114.2 112.8 193.0 120.0
IV 146.0 177.8 121.8 167.8 118.7 114.9 116.2 115.3 173.9 120.5
ANNUAL 146.3 177.3 121.1 165.5 117.5 113.1 114.4 113.4 183.1 119.7
2007 I 146.2 177.8 121.7 170.3 119.4 116.5 117.2 116.7 171.8 121.6
II 147.4 179.7 121.9 171.3 118.7 116.2 117.4 116.5 172.5 121.5
III 148.1 180.9 122.1 172.5 118.7 116.5 117.8 116.8 166.8 121.3
IV 148.8 181.7 122.1 175.0 119.0 117.6 118.9 117.9 155.9 121.3
ANNUAL 147.6 180.0 122.0 172.3 119.0 116.7 117.9 117.0 166.7 121.4
2008 I 148.7 181.1 121.8 176.2 118.6 118.5 119.0 118.6 150.3 121.5
II r151.5 r183.8 121.3 r177.2 r117.8 r117.0 r119.4 r117.6 r147.3 r120.3
III 153.3 184.6 120.4 179.4 117.4 117.0 121.1 118.1 155.7 121.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)
2006 I 4.4 7.0 2.4 8.3 6.3 3.7 -0.6 2.5 12.1 3.7
II -0.9 0.8 1.7 0.0 -3.5 0.9 5.3 2.1 1.4 2.0
III 2.7 4.7 1.9 1.5 -2.5 -1.2 -0.5 -1.0 23.3 2.1
IV -2.6 -1.6 1.0 6.9 8.5 9.7 6.9 9.0 -34.1 1.7
ANNUAL 2.1 4.4 2.2 3.6 0.3 1.5 1.4 1.4 12.2 2.8
2007 I 0.4 0.0 -0.3 6.1 2.4 5.7 3.6 5.1 -4.7 3.8
II 3.4 4.3 0.8 2.2 -2.3 -1.2 0.8 -0.7 1.7 -0.4
III 1.8 2.6 0.7 2.8 0.1 1.0 1.3 1.0 -12.5 -0.8
IV 1.9 1.9 0.0 5.9 0.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 -23.7 0.2
ANNUAL 0.9 1.6 0.7 4.1 1.3 3.2 3.0 3.2 -9.0 1.5
2008 I -0.2 -1.4 -1.1 2.9 -1.3 3.2 0.3 2.4 -13.6 0.5
II r7.7 r6.0 -1.6 r2.3 r-2.6 r-5.0 r1.2 r-3.4 r-7.7 r-3.8
III 4.9 1.8 -3.0 5.0 -1.6 0.1 5.8 1.7 24.6 4.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year
2006 I 3.2 5.9 2.6 4.1 0.4 0.9 1.4 1.0 17.1 3.0
II 1.6 3.9 2.3 3.7 -0.2 2.0 2.7 2.2 9.8 3.2
III 2.9 5.2 2.2 2.6 -0.7 -0.3 -1.3 -0.6 26.8 2.6
IV 0.9 2.7 1.8 4.1 2.1 3.2 2.7 3.1 -2.0 2.4
ANNUAL 2.1 4.4 2.2 3.6 0.3 1.5 1.4 1.4 12.2 2.8
2007 I -0.1 1.0 1.1 3.6 1.1 3.7 3.8 3.7 -5.9 2.4
II 1.0 1.8 0.8 4.1 1.4 3.1 2.7 3.0 -5.8 1.8
III 0.7 1.3 0.6 4.5 2.1 3.7 3.1 3.6 -13.6 1.1
IV 1.9 2.2 0.3 4.3 0.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 -10.3 0.7
ANNUAL 0.9 1.6 0.7 4.1 1.3 3.2 3.0 3.2 -9.0 1.5
2008 I 1.7 1.8 0.1 3.5 -0.7 1.7 1.6 1.7 -12.5 -0.1
II r2.8 r2.3 -0.5 r3.5 r-0.7 r0.7 r1.7 1.0 r-14.6 -1.0
III 3.5 2.0 -1.4 4.0 -1.2 0.5 2.8 1.1 -6.7 0.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See footnotes following Table 6. December 3, 2008
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. Compensation and
hours 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 second quarter of 2008.
Footnotes, Tables 1-6
(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 1978-2007 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
average 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
