For release 10:00 am (EDT) March 30, 2017 USDL-17-0375
Technical information: (202) 691-5606 • mfpweb@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mfp
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
(Note: The Bureau of Labor Statistics identified an error in the estimates
of the contribution of intellectual property products (IPP) excluding
research and development (R&D) to labor productivity and the contribution
of capital services excluding information processing equipment (IPE) & IPP
to labor productivity. This error affects Table B of Multifactor
Productivity Trends – 2016. No other measures besides the measures
listed above were affected by this error. The data in this release will
not be corrected. For more information, please visit
https://www.bls.gov/bls/errata/productivity-correction-11082017.htm.)
MULTIFACTOR PRODUCTIVITY TRENDS – 2016
Private nonfarm business sector multifactor productivity decreased at a
0.2-percent annual rate in 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. (See chart 1, table A.) This 2016 decline reflected a
1.7-percent increase in output and a 1.9-percent increase in the combined
inputs of capital and labor. Capital services grew by 2.4 percent and
labor input–which is the combined effect of hours worked and labor
composition–grew by 1.6 percent. This was the first decline in multifactor
productivity growth since 2009. (See table 1.)
Multifactor productivity is calculated by dividing an index of real output
by an index of combined units of labor input and capital services. Multifactor
productivity annual measures differ from BLS quarterly labor productivity
(output per hour worked) measures because the former also includes the
influences of capital services and shifts in the composition of the
workforce. Measures for the most recent year of this release are preliminary
estimates. See the Technical Notes for additional information.
Private business sector multifactor productivity decreased at a 0.1-percent
annual rate in 2016. A 1.8-percent increase in output and a 1.9-percent
increase in the combined inputs of capital and labor resulted in the
multifactor productivity decline in 2016. (See table 2, table A.)
Trends in the private nonfarm business sector
Multifactor productivity in the private nonfarm business sector grew at
an average annual percent rate of 0.9 percent from 1987 to 2016. For the
2007-2016 period, multifactor productivity grew 0.4 percent on average as
combined inputs increased at an average annual rate of 1.0 percent and output
increased at a 1.4 percent average annual rate. The increase in combined
inputs reflected a 1.7-average annual percent increase in capital services
along with an increase in labor input at an average annual rate of 0.7
percent. (See table A.)
In the 2007-2016 period, annual labor productivity decelerated to 1.2 percent
at an annual average rate, as compared to the 2.7 rate in the 2000-2007
period. Annual labor productivity growth can be viewed as the sum of three
components: multifactor productivity growth, the contribution of capital
intensity, and the contribution of shifts in labor composition.
Labor productivity growth in the 2007-2016 period slowed due to decelerations
in multifactor productivity growth and the contribution of capital intensity
which both reflect the lowest contributions to labor productivity growth
observed in the 1987-2016 period as viewed over the sub periods of growth.
(See chart 2) The contribution of capital intensity amounted to 0.5 percentage
point of the labor productivity growth, while the contribution of labor
composition amounted to 0.3 percentage point of the labor productivity growth.
Additionally, the average annual growth in multifactor productivity over the
2007-2016 period of 0.4 percent contributed roughly a third to the overall
growth in labor productivity of 1.2 percent. Multifactor productivity growth
decelerated by 1.0 percentage points from the 2000-2007 business cycle and
the contribution of capital intensity decelerated by a half of a percentage
point. The contributions to labor composition slightly increased to 0.3
percent in the 2007-2016 period from the 2000-2007 period.
(See chart 2, table B.)
The deceleration of capital services since 2000 is largely due to a
major deceleration in the growth of equipment and intellectual property
products. Equipment continued to decelerate from the peak in the
1995-2000 period, when it grew at an 8.9 percent average annual rate
to 2.0 percent in the more recent 2007-2015 period. Intellectual
property products decelerated from a peak of 8.4 average annual percent
change in the 1995-2000 period to 3.0 percent in 2007-2015.
(See chart 3, table C.)
Within equipment, computers decelerated from a 13.7 average annual
percent rate of growth in the 2000-2007 period to 5.4 average annual
percent in 2007-2015. (See chart 4, table C.) Within intellectual
property products, software decelerated from a 7.5 average annual percent
rate of growth in the 2000-2007 period to 3.3 percent in 2007-2015.
(See chart 5, table C.)
Revisions
In 2015, multifactor productivity growth rates in the private nonfarm
business sector were revised up from 0.2 percent to 0.6 percent in 2015,
due to a revision in output. In 2014, multifactor productivity measures
in the private nonfarm business sector were unchanged. (See table D.)
Table A. Productivity, output, and inputs in the private nonfarm business
and private business sectors for selected periods,1987-2016
Compound annual growth rates
1987- 1987- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2007- 2014- 2015-
2016 1990 1995 2000 2007 2016 2015 2016
Private nonfarm business1
Productivity
Multifactor Productivity2 0.9 0.6 0.5 1.4 1.4 0.4 0.6 -0.2
Labor productivity3 1.9 1.5 1.6 2.8 2.7 1.2 0.9 0.2
Output per unit of
capital services -0.4 -0.5 -0.4 -0.8 -0.4 -0.2 0.6 -0.6
Output 2.8 3.2 3.0 5.0 2.8 1.4 3.2 1.7
Combined inputs4 1.9 2.6 2.4 3.6 1.4 1.0 2.5 1.9
Labor input5 1.3 2.1 2.0 2.5 0.5 0.7 2.6 1.6
Hours 0.9 1.7 1.3 2.2 0.1 0.3 2.2 1.5
Labor Composition6 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.1
Capital services 3.3 3.7 3.3 5.9 3.2 1.7 2.5 2.4
Analytic ratio
Capital intensity7 2.4 2.0 2.0 3.6 3.1 1.4 0.3 0.8
Private business1
Productivity
Multifactor Productivity2 0.9 0.7 0.5 1.6 1.5 0.4 0.5 -0.1
Labor productivity3 2.0 1.6 1.5 3.0 2.7 1.2 0.8 0.3
Output per unit of
capital services -0.3 -0.4 -0.2 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.7 -0.5
Output 2.8 3.2 2.9 5.1 2.8 1.5 3.2 1.8
Combined inputs4 1.9 2.5 2.4 3.4 1.3 1.0 2.6 1.9
Labor input5 1.3 1.9 2.0 2.3 0.4 0.7 2.7 1.6
Hours 0.8 1.6 1.4 2.0 0.1 0.3 2.3 1.5
Labor Composition6 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.1
Capital services 3.2 3.7 3.2 5.7 3.2 1.6 2.4 2.3
Analytic ratio
Capital intensity7 2.3 2.1 1.8 3.6 3.1 1.3 0.0 0.8
1. Excludes government enterprises.
2. Output per combined units of labor input and capital services.
3. Output per hour worked.
4. The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar
costs.
5. Hours at work by age, education, and gender group are weighted by each
group’s share of the total wage bill.
6. Ratio of labor input to hours.
7. Capital services per hour.
Table B. Labor productivity and the contributions of capital intensity, labor
composition, and multifactor productivity to labor productivity in the private
nonfarm business and private business sectors for selected periods,1987-2016
Compound annual growth rates
1987- 1987- 1987- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2007- 2007- 2014- 2015-
2015 2016* 1990 1995 2000 2007 2015 2016* 2015 2016*
Private nonfarm
business1
Labor productivity2 2.0 1.9 1.5 1.6 2.8 2.7 1.3 1.2 0.9 0.2
Contribution of
capital intensity3 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 1.2 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.1 0.3
Contribution of
information
processing
equipment(IPE)4 0.3 NA 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.1 NA 0.0 NA
Contribution of
research and
development
(R&D)5 0.1 NA 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 NA 0.0 NA
Contribution of
intellectual
property
products (IPP)
excluding R&D6 0.2 NA 0.2 0.4 0.4 -0.1 0.1 NA 0.1 NA
Contribution of
capital
services
excluding IPP
and IPE 0.2 NA 0.0 -0.1 0.1 0.7 0.2 NA 0.0 NA
Contribution of
labor composition7 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1
Multifactor
productivity8 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.5 1.4 1.4 0.5 0.4 0.6 -0.2
Contribution of
R&D to
multifactor
productivity
Private business1
Labor productivity2 2.0 2.0 1.6 1.5 3.0 2.7 1.3 1.2 0.8 0.3
Contribution of
capital intensity3 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 1.2 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.3
Contribution of
information
processing
equipment(IPE)4 0.3 NA 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.1 NA 0.0 NA
Contribution of
research and
development
(R&D)5 0.1 NA 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 NA 0.0 NA
Contribution of
intellectual
property
products (IPP)
excluding R&D6 0.2 NA 0.2 0.4 0.4 -0.1 0.1 NA 0.1 NA
Contribution of
capital
services
excluding IPP
and IPE 0.2 NA 0.1 -0.1 0.1 0.7 0.2 NA -0.1 NA
Contribution of
labor composition7 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1
Multifactor
productivity8 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.5 1.6 1.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 -0.1
1. Excludes government enterprises.
2. Output per hour worked.
3. Capital services per hour multiplied by capital's share of current dollar
costs.
4. Information processing equipment per hour multiplied by its share of current
dollar costs.
5. Research and development per hout multiplied by its share of current dollar
costs.
6. Software and artistic originals per hour multiplied by their share of
current dollar costs.
7. Labor composition multiplied by labor's share of current dollar costs.
8. Output per unit of combined labor and capital services.
* NA identifies where data for the most recent year are not available.
Note: Multifactor productivity plus contribution of capital intensity and
labor composition may not sum to output per hour due to independent
rounding. Contributions of the components of capital intensity may not
sum to the total contribution of capital intensity due to independent
rounding.
Table C. Real capital services by asset type in the private nonfarm business
and private business sectors for selected periods, 1987-2015
Compound annual growth rates
1987- 1987- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2007- 2014-
2015 1990 1995 2000 2007 2015 2015
Private nonfarm business1
All Assets 3.3 3.7 3.3 5.9 3.2 1.6 2.5
Equipment 4.4 3.6 4.1 8.9 4.5 2.0 3.3
Information
Processing
Equipment (IPE) 8.9 8.8 8.1 18.4 8.6 3.9 2.6
Computers &
related equipment 16.5 18.7 15.8 40.7 13.7 5.4 1.4
Communication
equipment 6.9 5.7 5.2 10.9 8.5 4.6 3.6
Other IPE 2.7 2.6 3.7 3.4 2.6 1.6 2.5
All other equipment 2.4 1.3 2.1 4.6 2.7 1.2 3.5
Structures 1.6 2.8 1.9 2.1 1.2 0.9 1.3
Intellectual property
products (IPP) 5.6 8.0 6.6 8.4 4.9 3.0 3.8
Research
&
Development 3.8 5.6 4.2 4.6 2.9 3.1 3.2
Software 10.0 17.8 13.5 17.0 7.5 3.3 5.1
Artistic
Originals 3.3 3.9 3.6 4.1 3.6 2.2 2.1
Residential rental 1.2 1.9 0.9 1.8 2.2 -0.2 0.2
capital
Inventories 2.6 3.4 2.3 4.4 2.3 1.6 4.4
Land 0.8 1.7 1.2 1.3 0.6 -0.1 1.3
Private business1
All Assets 3.2 3.7 3.2 5.7 3.2 1.6 2.4
Equipment 4.3 3.3 3.8 8.8 4.5 2.1 3.3
Information
Processing
Equipment (IPE) 8.9 8.8 8.1 18.4 8.6 4.0 2.7
Computers &
related equipment 16.5 18.7 15.8 40.7 13.7 5.4 1.4
Communication
equipment 6.9 5.7 5.3 10.9 8.5 4.6 3.6
Other IPE 2.8 2.6 3.8 3.5 2.7 2.0 2.8
All other equipment 2.3 1.0 1.9 4.5 2.7 1.3 3.5
Structures 1.6 2.7 1.9 2.1 1.2 0.9 1.3
Intellectual property
products (IPP) 5.6 8.0 6.6 8.4 4.9 3.0 3.8
Research
&
Development 3.8 5.6 4.2 4.6 2.9 3.1 3.2
Software 10.0 17.8 13.5 17.0 7.5 3.3 5.1
Artistic
Originals 3.3 3.9 3.6 4.1 3.6 2.2 2.1
Residential rental 1.2 1.9 0.9 1.8 2.2 -0.2 0.2
capital
Inventories 2.4 3.0 2.3 4.2 2.2 1.4 4.3
Land 0.7 3.3 1.0 0.9 0.6 -0.4 0.2
1. Excludes government enterprises.
Note: Real capital services by asset type are not available for the most
recent reference year. For a brief discussion of methods used in
preparing these data, see Technical Notes in this release.
Table D. Previous and revised multifactor productivity and related measures for
the 2014-2015 and 2013-2014 periods
Inputs
Multifactor Real value- Combined Capital
Sector productivity1 added output inputs2 Labor3 services
Annual percent change, 2014-2015
Private nonfarm business
Previous 0.2 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.6
Revised 0.6 3.2 2.5 2.6 2.5
Private business
Previous 0.2 2.9 2.7 2.8 2.6
Revised 0.5 3.2 2.6 2.7 2.4
Annual percent change, 2013-2014
Private nonfarm business
Previous 0.7 3.1 2.4 2.5 2.1
Revised 0.7 3.1 2.4 2.5 2.2
Private business
Previous 0.7 3.1 2.4 2.6 2.0
Revised 0.6 3.0 2.4 2.6 2.1
1. Output per combined units of hours, capital services, energy, materials,
and purchased business services.
2. The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current
dollar costs.
3. Hours at work by age, education, and gender group, weighted by each group’s
share of total wages.
Technical Notes
Capital Services
Capital services are the services derived from the stock of physical assets
and intellectual property assets. There are 90 asset types for fixed business
equipment, structures, inventories, land, and intellectual property products.
Data on investment for fixed assets are obtained from the Bureau of Economic
Analysis (BEA). Data on inventories are estimated using information from BEA
and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Corporation Income Returns. Data for
land in the farm sector are obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA). Nonfarm industry detail for land is based on IRS book value data.
Current-dollar value-added data, obtained from BEA, are used in estimating
capital rental prices.
BLS provides additional detail in table C on information processing equipment
and intellectual property products. Information processing equipment is
composed of three broad classes of assets: computers and related equipment,
communications equipment, and other information processing equipment.
Computers and related equipment includes mainframe computers, personal
computers, printers, terminals, tape drives, storage devices, and integrated
systems. Communications equipment is not further differentiated. Other
information processing equipment includes medical equipment and related
instruments, electromedical instruments, nonmedical instruments, photocopying
and related equipment, and office and accounting machinery. Intellectual
property products are composed of three broad classes of assets: software,
research and development, and artistic originals. Software is comprised of
pre-packaged, custom, and own-account software. Research and development
is creative work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge for the
purpose of discovering or developing new products or improving existing
ones. Artistic originals include theatrical movies, long-lived television
programs, books, music, and other forms of entertainment. Structures include
nonresidential structures and residential capital that are rented out by
profit-making firms or persons.
Financial assets are excluded from capital services measures, as are
owner-occupied residential structures. The aggregate capital services
measures are obtained by Tornqvist aggregation of the capital stocks for
each asset type within each of 60 NAICS industry groupings using estimated
rental prices for each asset type. Each rental price reflects the nominal
rate of return to all assets within the industry and rates of economic
depreciation and revaluation for the specific asset; rental prices are
adjusted for the effects of taxes. Current-dollar capital costs can be
defined as each asset’s rental price multiplied by its constant-dollar
stock, adjusting for capital composition effects.
Capital services measures constructed for the most recent year are
preliminary and are based on less detail than the rest of the series.
These measures consist of 6 asset types as opposed to the 90 asset types
for fixed business equipment, structures, inventories, land, and intellectual
property products included in estimates for all previous years. The assets
included in the most recent year are structures, fixed business equipment,
intellectual property products, inventories, rental residences, and land.
Investments, depreciation, and capital income are estimated for each of these
six aggregates. Capital services are calculated by a chained superlative
Tornqvist index combining stocks of the six asset categories, weighted by
capital income shares. See the June 2005 Monthly Labor Review article,
“Preliminary estimates of multifactor productivity growth” located at
www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/06/art3full.pdf.
Labor Input
Labor input in private business and private nonfarm business is obtained
by a chained superlative Tornqvist aggregation of the hours worked,
classified by age, education, and gender with weights determined by each
group’s share of the total wage bill. Hours paid of employees are largely
obtained from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. Weekly paid
hours are adjusted to hours worked 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. Hours
worked for nonproduction and supervisory workers are derived using data
from the Current Population Survey (CPS), CES, and NCS. The hours worked
of proprietors, unpaid family workers, and farm employees are derived from
the CPS. Hours worked data reflect estimates in the February 2, 2017
“Productivity and Costs” news release (USDL-17-0140).
The estimates of 2016 hours worked for the private nonfarm business and
private business sectors are extrapolated from the hours worked reported
in the nonfarm business and business sectors, respectively, in the
February 2, 2017 “Productivity and Costs” news release (USDL-17-0140).
The growth rate of labor composition is defined as the difference between
the growth rate of weighted labor input and the growth rate of the hours
of all persons.
Additional information concerning data sources and methods of measuring
labor composition can be found in “Changes in the Composition of Labor
for BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2014”
(www.bls.gov/mfp/mprlabor.pdf).
Combined Inputs
Labor input and capital services are combined using chained superlative
Tornqvist aggregation, applying weights that represent each component's
average share of total costs. The chained superlative Tornqvist index uses
changing weights; the share in each year is averaged with the preceding
year's share. Total costs are defined as the value of output less a portion
of taxes on production and imports. Most taxes on production and imports,
such as excise taxes, are excluded from costs; however, property and motor
vehicle taxes remain in total costs.
Capital Intensity
Capital intensity is the ratio of capital services to hours worked in the
production process. The higher the capital to hours ratio, the more
capital intensive the production process becomes.
In a production process, profit-maximizing/cost-minimizing firms adjust
the factor proportions of capital and labor when the price of one factor
is less than the other factor; there is a tendency for the firms to
substitute the less expensive factor for the more expensive one. In the
short run, changes in hours worked are more variable than changes in
capital services. Changes in hours worked in business cycles can result
in volatility of the capital intensity ratio over short periods of time.
In the long run an increase in wages relative to the price of capital will
induce the firm to substitute capital for labor, resulting in an increase
in capital intensity.
Rising labor costs are, in fact, an incentive for firms to introduce
automated production processes. Industry estimates of capital to hours
ratios can be obtained at www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm.
Value-Added Output
Private 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, private
households (including owner-occupied housing), and government
enterprises. This release presents data for the private business and
private nonfarm business sectors. The private business sector accounted
for approximately 75 percent of GDP in 2015. Additionally, the private
nonfarm business sector excludes farms from the private business sector,
but includes agricultural services. Multifactor productivity measures
exclude government enterprises, while the BLS quarterly Productivity
and Costs series include them.
The output measures are based on the National Income and Product
Accounts (NIPA) data released by BEA on January 27, 2017. The
estimates of 2016 output for the private nonfarm business and private
business sectors are extrapolated from the output reported in the
nonfarm business and business sectors, respectively, in the February 2, 2017
“Productivity and Costs” news release (USDL-17-0140).
Multifactor Productivity
Multifactor productivity measures describe the relationship between output
in real terms and the inputs involved in its production. They do not
measure the specific contributions of labor or capital, or any other
factor of production. Rather, multifactor productivity is designed to
measure the joint influences of technological change, efficiency
improvements, returns to scale, reallocation of resources, and other
factors on economic growth, allowing for the effects of capital and
labor.
The multifactor productivity indexes for private business and private
nonfarm business are derived by dividing an output index by an index
of combined inputs of capital services and labor input. The output
indexes are computed as chained superlative indexes (Fisher Ideal indexes)
of components of real output.
Research and Development
The stock of research and development in private nonfarm business
is derived by aggregating different vintages of constant dollar
measures of research and development expenditures and allowing for
depreciation. Current dollar expenditures for privately financed
research and development are obtained from annual issues of Research
and Development in Industry published by the National Science
Foundation. BLS develops price deflators and estimates of the rate
of depreciation.
The research and development data in the private nonfarm business
sector presented here show the effect of spillovers from economic
units that conduct research and development. BEA publishes measures
of research and development investments in each industry that include
estimates of the direct returns to firms conducting such research and
development activities. By combining the direct returns to firms conducting
research and development with the spillover effect of other firms, a
picture of the total overall effects of research and development can be
drawn.
Further description of these data and methods can be found in BLS Bulletin
2331 (September 1989), "The Impact of Research and Development on
Productivity Growth" at www.bls.gov/mfp/mfparchive.htm. BLS measures
of year-to-year contributions of research and development to the private
nonfarm business sector and measures of the stock of research and
development are available at www.bls.gov/mfp/rdtable.pdf.
Other Information
Comprehensive tables containing additional data beyond the scope of this
press release are available upon request at (202) 691-5606 or at
www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. More detailed information on methods,
limitations, and data sources of capital and labor are provided in BLS
Bulletin 2178 (September 1983), “Trends in Multifactor Productivity, 1948-81”
(www.bls.gov/mfp/mfparchive.htm) and on the BLS Multifactor Productivity
website under the title “Technical Information About the BLS Multifactor
Productivity Measures for Major Sectors and 18 NAICS 3-digit Manufacturing
Industries” (www.bls.gov/mfp/mprtech.pdf). General information is available
on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/mfp/mprover.htm. Additional data not
contained in the release can be obtained at www.bls.gov/mfp. Comprehensive
tables can be downloaded at www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm, including data
that links 1948-87 SIC data to NAICS data from 1987 forward. This file
includes data for the private business and private nonfarm business sector.
Table 1. Private nonfarm business sector: productivity and related measures
for the 1987-2016 period1
Annual percent change from previous year
Output Combined
per units of
unit of Multi- labor and
Labor capital factor Value- Capital capital
produc- servic- Product- added Servic- servic- Capital
Year tivity2 es ivity3 Output4 Labor5 es6 es7 Intensity8
1988 1.7 0.8 1.2 4.6 3.2 3.8 3.4 0.9
1989 0.9 -0.2 0.2 3.7 3.2 3.9 3.4 1.1
1990 2.0 -1.9 0.5 1.5 -0.2 3.4 1.0 3.9
1991 2.0 -3.3 -0.4 -0.5 -1.5 2.9 -0.1 5.5
1992 4.2 1.5 3.1 4.0 0.1 2.5 0.9 2.7
1993 0.2 0.0 -0.4 3.2 3.7 3.2 3.6 0.2
1994 1.0 1.0 0.5 4.6 4.3 3.6 4.1 0.0
1995 0.8 -0.8 -0.2 3.6 3.5 4.4 3.8 1.6
1996 2.7 -0.2 1.5 4.6 2.1 4.8 3.0 2.9
1997 1.6 -0.3 0.9 5.2 3.7 5.5 4.3 1.9
1998 3.1 -0.8 1.4 5.3 2.8 6.2 3.9 3.9
1999 3.3 -0.9 1.7 5.6 2.6 6.5 3.8 4.2
2000 3.3 -1.9 1.6 4.4 1.1 6.4 2.8 5.3
2001 3.0 -3.7 0.5 0.9 -1.6 4.7 0.3 6.9
2002 4.4 -1.4 2.2 1.8 -2.0 3.2 -0.4 5.9
2003 3.7 0.5 2.3 3.2 -0.1 2.6 0.8 3.2
2004 3.1 2.0 2.6 4.5 1.6 2.5 1.9 1.1
2005 2.1 0.7 1.5 3.8 1.8 3.1 2.3 1.3
2006 1.0 -0.2 0.4 3.3 2.6 3.5 2.9 1.2
2007 1.7 -0.7 0.5 2.4 1.2 3.1 1.9 2.4
2008 0.7 -3.8 -1.3 -1.3 -1.4 2.6 0.0 4.7
2009 3.3 -4.9 -0.4 -4.1 -6.2 0.8 -3.7 8.6
2010 3.3 2.8 2.9 3.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4
2011 0.1 1.2 0.3 2.2 2.4 1.0 1.9 -1.1
2012 0.8 1.8 0.9 3.1 2.8 1.4 2.3 -0.9
2013 0.3 0.2 0.2 2.1 1.8 1.9 1.8 0.1
2014 0.8 0.9 0.7 3.1 2.5 2.2 2.4 -0.1
2015 0.9 0.6 0.6 3.2 2.6 2.5 2.5 0.3
2016 0.2 -0.6 -0.2 1.7 1.6 2.4 1.9 0.8
See footnotes following table 4.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 2. Private business sector: productivity and related measures
for the 1987-2016 period1
Annual percent change from previous year
Output Combined
per units of
unit of Multi- labor and
Labor capital factor Value- Capital capital
produc- servic- Product- added Servic- servic- Capital
Year tivity2 es ivity3 Output4 Labor5 es6 es7 Intensity8
1988 1.5 0.4 1.0 4.3 3.1 3.9 3.3 1.1
1989 1.1 0.0 0.5 3.8 3.1 3.9 3.4 1.2
1990 2.3 -1.6 0.8 1.6 -0.4 3.3 0.8 3.9
1991 1.9 -3.2 -0.4 -0.5 -1.5 2.8 -0.1 5.3
1992 4.4 1.8 3.4 4.2 0.1 2.4 0.8 2.6
1993 0.2 -0.1 -0.4 2.9 3.5 3.0 3.4 0.3
1994 0.8 1.3 0.5 4.9 4.7 3.5 4.3 -0.4
1995 0.4 -0.9 -0.5 3.2 3.5 4.2 3.7 1.4
1996 3.0 0.1 1.8 4.7 2.0 4.6 2.9 2.9
1997 1.8 0.0 1.1 5.3 3.6 5.3 4.2 1.8
1998 3.1 -0.8 1.4 5.2 2.6 6.0 3.7 3.9
1999 3.5 -0.7 1.9 5.6 2.4 6.3 3.6 4.2
2000 3.4 -1.6 1.7 4.5 1.1 6.2 2.7 5.1
2001 3.0 -3.6 0.5 0.8 -1.7 4.6 0.2 6.9
2002 4.4 -1.2 2.2 1.8 -1.9 3.0 -0.4 5.6
2003 3.9 0.7 2.5 3.2 -0.2 2.5 0.7 3.1
2004 3.2 2.0 2.6 4.5 1.5 2.5 1.8 1.2
2005 2.1 0.7 1.5 3.8 1.8 3.2 2.3 1.4
2006 1.0 -0.3 0.4 3.2 2.4 3.5 2.8 1.3
2007 1.6 -0.7 0.4 2.2 1.1 2.9 1.8 2.3
2008 0.8 -3.4 -1.2 -1.2 -1.3 2.3 0.0 4.4
2009 3.5 -4.5 -0.2 -3.9 -6.1 0.7 -3.7 8.4
2010 3.3 2.8 2.9 3.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.5
2011 0.0 1.0 0.2 2.1 2.4 1.1 1.9 -1.0
2012 0.6 1.4 0.6 2.9 2.8 1.5 2.3 -0.8
2013 0.7 0.4 0.5 2.3 1.7 1.9 1.8 0.3
2014 0.6 0.9 0.6 3.0 2.6 2.1 2.4 -0.2
2015 0.8 0.7 0.5 3.2 2.7 2.4 2.6 0.0
2016 0.3 -0.5 -0.1 1.8 1.6 2.3 1.9 0.8
See footnotes following table 4.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 3. Private nonfarm business sector: indexes of productivity and related
measures, 1987-2016 period1
Indexes 2009=100
Output Combined
per units of
unit of Multi- labor and
Labor capital factor Value- Capital capital
produc- servic- Product- added Servic- servic- Capital
Year tivity2 es ivity3 Output4 Labor5 es6 es7 Intensity8
1987 61.2 120.7 82.0 53.4 78.9 44.3 65.2 50.7
1988 62.3 121.6 83.0 55.9 81.4 45.9 67.4 51.2
1989 62.8 121.3 83.1 57.9 84.0 47.7 69.7 51.8
1990 64.1 119.1 83.6 58.8 83.8 49.4 70.4 53.8
1991 65.3 115.1 83.3 58.5 82.6 50.8 70.3 56.8
1992 68.1 116.8 85.9 60.9 82.7 52.1 70.9 58.3
1993 68.2 116.8 85.6 62.8 85.7 53.8 73.4 58.4
1994 68.9 117.9 86.0 65.7 89.4 55.7 76.4 58.4
1995 69.4 117.0 85.8 68.1 92.6 58.2 79.3 59.3
1996 71.3 116.7 87.1 71.2 94.5 61.0 81.7 61.1
1997 72.5 116.4 87.9 74.9 98.1 64.3 85.2 62.2
1998 74.7 115.5 89.1 78.9 100.8 68.3 88.5 64.6
1999 77.1 114.5 90.7 83.3 103.4 72.8 91.9 67.3
2000 79.7 112.3 92.1 87.0 104.6 77.4 94.4 70.9
2001 82.1 108.2 92.6 87.7 102.9 81.1 94.8 75.8
2002 85.7 106.7 94.6 89.3 100.8 83.7 94.4 80.3
2003 88.9 107.2 96.8 92.1 100.8 85.9 95.1 82.9
2004 91.6 109.4 99.3 96.2 102.3 88.0 96.9 83.8
2005 93.5 110.1 100.8 99.9 104.2 90.7 99.1 84.9
2006 94.4 109.9 101.2 103.2 106.8 93.9 102.0 85.9
2007 96.0 109.2 101.7 105.6 108.1 96.7 103.8 87.9
2008 96.8 105.1 100.4 104.3 106.6 99.2 103.9 92.1
2009 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2010 103.3 102.8 102.9 103.2 100.3 100.4 100.3 100.4
2011 103.4 104.0 103.2 105.5 102.7 101.4 102.2 99.4
2012 104.3 105.9 104.1 108.8 105.6 102.8 104.5 98.5
2013 104.6 106.1 104.3 111.1 107.5 104.7 106.5 98.6
2014 105.4 107.0 105.1 114.5 110.2 107.0 109.0 98.5
2015 106.4 107.7 105.7 118.1 113.1 109.7 111.8 98.8
2016 106.6 107.0 105.5 120.2 114.9 112.3 113.9 99.6
See footnotes following table 4.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Table 4. Private business sector: indexes of productivity and related
measures, 1987-2016 period1
Indexes 2009=100
Output Combined
per units of
unit of Multi- labor and
Labor capital factor Value- Capital capital
produc- servic- Product- added Servic- servic- Capital
Year tivity2 es ivity3 Output4 Labor5 es6 es7 Intensity8
1987 60.4 117.4 80.8 53.4 79.8 45.4 66.0 51.5
1988 61.4 117.9 81.6 55.6 82.2 47.2 68.2 52.0
1989 62.1 117.9 82.0 57.8 84.7 49.0 70.5 52.7
1990 63.5 116.0 82.6 58.7 84.4 50.6 71.1 54.7
1991 64.7 112.3 82.3 58.4 83.2 52.0 71.0 57.6
1992 67.6 114.4 85.0 60.9 83.3 53.2 71.6 59.1
1993 67.7 114.2 84.7 62.7 86.2 54.9 74.0 59.3
1994 68.3 115.7 85.1 65.7 90.2 56.8 77.2 59.0
1995 68.5 114.6 84.7 67.8 93.4 59.2 80.1 59.8
1996 70.6 114.7 86.2 71.0 95.2 61.9 82.3 61.5
1997 71.9 114.7 87.2 74.8 98.6 65.2 85.8 62.7
1998 74.2 113.9 88.5 78.7 101.2 69.1 89.0 65.1
1999 76.7 113.1 90.1 83.1 103.6 73.5 92.2 67.9
2000 79.4 111.3 91.7 86.8 104.8 78.0 94.7 71.3
2001 81.8 107.2 92.2 87.5 103.0 81.6 94.9 76.3
2002 85.4 105.9 94.2 89.1 101.0 84.1 94.6 80.6
2003 88.7 106.7 96.5 91.9 100.8 86.2 95.3 83.1
2004 91.5 108.8 99.1 96.1 102.4 88.3 97.0 84.1
2005 93.4 109.5 100.6 99.8 104.2 91.1 99.2 85.3
2006 94.4 109.3 101.0 103.1 106.8 94.3 102.0 86.4
2007 95.9 108.5 101.4 105.3 107.9 97.1 103.8 88.4
2008 96.7 104.8 100.2 104.1 106.5 99.3 103.8 92.3
2009 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2010 103.3 102.8 102.9 103.2 100.3 100.4 100.3 100.5
2011 103.3 103.8 103.1 105.4 102.7 101.5 102.2 99.5
2012 103.9 105.3 103.7 108.5 105.5 103.0 104.6 98.7
2013 104.7 105.7 104.3 111.0 107.3 105.0 106.4 99.0
2014 105.3 106.6 104.9 114.3 110.1 107.2 109.0 98.8
2015 106.2 107.4 105.5 118.0 113.1 109.8 111.8 98.8
2016 106.5 106.9 105.4 120.1 114.9 112.4 113.9 99.6
See footnotes following table 4.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Footnotes, Tables 1-4
Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) develops productivity measures
using output and compensation data published by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA), hours data published by other BLS programs,
and capital data supplied by BEA and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Also see Technical Notes in this release.
(1) The private business sector covers gross domestic product with the
exception of the output of general government, government
enterprises, non-profit institutions, the rental value of owner-
occupied real estate, and the output of paid employees of private
households. The private nonfarm business sector further excludes
farms but includes agricultural services.
(2) Output per hour worked.
(3) Output per combined units of labor input and capital services.
(4) Gross domestic product originating in the sector, chained superlative
index.
(5) Index of hours worked of all persons including employees, proprietors,
and unpaid family workers, classified by age, education, and gender.
This chained superlative index is computed by combining changes in
the hours of each age, education, and gender group weighted by each
group’s share of total wages.
(6) A measure of the flow of capital services used in the sector.
Capital services measure the services derived from the stock of
physical assets and intellectual property products.
(7) The growth rates of labor input and capital services are combined
by weighting with their respective shares of current dollar costs
as weights, and aggregating into a chained superlative index.
(8) Capital services per hour.
United States Department of Labor
