For release 10:00 am (EDT) Tuesday, April 23, 2019 USDL-19-0694
Technical information: (202) 691-5606 • mfpweb@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mfp
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
MULTIFACTOR PRODUCTIVITY TRENDS IN MANUFACTURING - 2017
Manufacturing sector multifactor productivity declined 1.4 percent in 2017, the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The multifactor
productivity decline in 2017 reflected a 0.4-percent increase in sectoral
output and a 1.9-percent increase in combined inputs. The decrease in
multifactor productivity followed a 2.8-percent decrease in 2016.
Multifactor productivity is calculated by dividing an index of real sectoral
output by an index of combined units of labor input, capital services, and
intermediate inputs. Multifactor productivity annual measures differ from BLS
quarterly labor productivity or output per hour measures because the former
also includes information on capital services, shifts in the composition of
the workforce, and intermediate inputs.
Durable manufacturing sector multifactor productivity decreased 3.2 percent
in 2017. The decline reflected a 0.3-percent increase in sectoral output and a
3.7-percent increase in combined inputs. Nondurable manufacturing sector
multifactor productivity increased 0.5 percent in 2017. The increase reflected
a no change in sectoral output and a 0.5-percent decrease in combined
inputs. (See table C, table 3.)
Among the 18 manufacturing industries, 13 experienced declines in multifactor
productivity in 2017. The largest declines in multifactor productivity were in
the apparel, leather, and allied products industry and the transportation
equipment industry. Printing and related support activities and petroleum and
coal products industries showed the largest gains in multifactor productivity.
Sectoral output increased in 5 industries and combined inputs increased in 9
industries in 2017. (See table 3.)
Contributions take into account the relative importance of each industry to the
manufacturing sector multifactor productivity. Transportation equipment made
the largest negative contribution to manufacturing multifactor productivity.
Petroleum and coal products made the largest positive contribution to
manufacturing multifactor productivity in 2017, partially offsetting the
overall productivity decline.
Trends in the manufacturing sector
Manufacturing sectoral output grew in 2017 with an annual increase of 0.4
percent compared to the 0.1-percent decline in 2016. The 1.9-percent increase
in combined inputs was driven by a 1.1-percent growth in materials.
(See table 1.)
Multifactor productivity in the manufacturing sector grew at an average annual
rate of 0.6 percent from 1987 to 2017 with sectoral output increasing at an
average annual rate of 1.6 percent, faster than the 0.9-percent average annual
rate of increase in combined inputs. During the same period, labor productivity
grew at an average annual rate of 2.7 percent. (See table A.) Of the
2.7-percent average annual increase in labor productivity, multifactor
productivity contributed 0.6 percentage points, capital intensity contributed
0.7 percentage points, intermediate inputs intensity contributed 1.1 percentage
points, and labor composition contributed 0.2 percentage points. (See table B.)
For the most recent 2007-17 period, multifactor productivity declined at a
0.7-percent average annual rate as compared to an increase of 1.8 percent
during the 2000-07 period. (See table A.) Sectoral output decreased at a
0.4-percent annual average rate and combined inputs rose at a 0.3-percent
annual average rate over the 2007-17 period.
Revised measures
Annual rates of multifactor productivity and related series were revised
historically for all three sectors. (See table D.) The revisions were a result
of Comprehensive Update of the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA)
released on July 27, 2018 and the Gross Domestic Product by Industry data
released on November 1, 2018.
Over the 1987-2016 period, manufacturing multifactor productivity growth was
unrevised. It was previously reported as 0.7 percent. Revisions over the
1987-2016 period resulted in a 0.1-percentage point downward revision to
multifactor productivity in nondurable manufacturing, with a 0.1-percentage
point upward revision to multifactor productivity growth in durable
manufacturing.
In 2016, multifactor productivity in the manufacturing sector was revised
upward 0.4 percentage points, the upward revision was due to 0.8 percent and
0.5 percent downward revisions to combined inputs and sectoral output
respectively. Multifactor productivity was revised upward 1.0 percent in the
durable manufacturing sector and downward 0.3 percent in the nondurable
manufacturing sector. Materials were revised downward 4.3 percent in
manufacturing, 4.9 percent in durable manufacturing, and 1.4 percent in
nondurable manufacturing. (See table D.)
Table A. Productivity, sectoral output, and inputs in the manufacturing
sector for selected periods, 1987-2017
Compound annual growth rates
1987- 1987- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2007- 2016-
2017 1990 1995 2000 2007 2017 2017
Productivity
Multifactor 0.6 0.2 0.9 1.8 1.8 -0.7 -1.4
productivity1
Labor productivity2 2.7 1.7 3.3 4.6 4.3 0.5 -0.4
Output per unit of -0.7 -0.8 0.6 0.3 -0.4 -2.1 -1.0
capital services
Sectoral Output 1.6 1.8 3.2 4.5 1.1 -0.4 0.4
Inputs
Combined Inputs3 0.9 1.6 2.2 2.6 -0.6 0.3 1.9
Labor input4 -0.5 0.5 0.6 0.4 -2.4 -0.5 1.1
Hours -1.1 0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -3.1 -0.9 0.8
Labor composition5 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.3
Capital Services 2.3 2.7 2.6 4.2 1.5 1.8 1.5
Energy -1.1 2.0 1.6 10.0 -5.6 -5.2 -15.3
Materials 1.5 0.5 3.3 3.8 0.2 0.6 1.1
Purchased business 1.0 5.4 3.1 1.3 -0.5 -0.3 8.5
services
1. Output per combined units of labor input, capital services, energy,
materials, and purchased business services.
2. Output per hour worked.
3. The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar
costs.
4. Hours at work by age, education, and gender group are weighted by each
group's share of total wages.
5. Ratio of labor input to hours.
Table B. Labor productivity and contributions of capital intensity,
intermediate inputs intensity, labor composition, and multifactor productivity
to labor productivity in the manufacturing sector for selected periods,
1987-2017
Compound annual growth rates
1987- 1987- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2007- 2016-
2017 1990 1995 2000 2007 2017 2017
Labor productivity1 2.7 1.7 3.3 4.6 4.3 0.5 -0.4
Contribution of 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.6 0.2
Capital Intensity2
Information 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0
processing
equipment
intensity3
Research and 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2
Development
intensity4
All Other 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
intellectual
property products
intensity5
All other capital 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.2 -0.1
services intensity
Contribution of 1.1 0.9 1.6 1.7 1.3 0.5 0.8
Intermediate Inputs
Intensity6
Energy intensity7 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3 -0.1 -0.1 -0.3
Materials 0.8 0.1 1.0 1.2 1.0 0.5 0.1
intensity8
Purchased business 0.3 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.4 0.1 1.0
services
intensity9
Contribution of 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1
labor composition10
Multifactor 0.6 0.2 0.9 1.8 1.8 -0.7 -1.4
productivity11
1. Output per hour worked.
2. Capital intensity multiplied by capital's share of current dollar
costs.
3. Information processing equipment per hour multiplied by its share of
current dollar costs.
4. Research and development per hour multiplied by its share of current
dollar costs.
5. Software and artistic originals per hour multiplied by its share of
current dollar costs.
6. Intermediate inputs per hour multiplied by intermediate inputs' share of
current dollar costs.
7. Energy per hour multiplied by energy’s share of current dollar costs.
8. Materials per hour multiplied by materials’ share of current dollar costs.
9. Purchased business services per hour multiplied by purchased business'
services' share of current dollar costs.
10. Labor composition multiplied by labor’s share of current dollar costs.
11. Output per combined units of labor input, capital services, energy,
materials, and purchased business services.
Table C. Multifactor productivity and related measures for selected periods
1987-2017 total, durable, and nondurable manufacturing sectors
Average annual growth
1987- 1987- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2007- 2016-
2017 1990 1995 2000 2007 2017 2017
Manufacturing
Multifactor productivity1 0.6 0.2 0.9 1.8 1.8 -0.7 -1.4
Labor productivity 2.7 1.7 3.3 4.6 4.3 0.5 -0.4
Sectoral Output 1.6 1.8 3.2 4.5 1.1 -0.4 0.4
Combined Inputs2 0.9 1.6 2.2 2.6 -0.6 0.3 1.9
Capital Services 2.3 2.7 2.6 4.2 1.5 1.8 1.5
Labor input3 -0.5 0.5 0.6 0.4 -2.4 -0.5 1.1
Energy -1.1 2.0 1.6 10.0 -5.6 -5.2 -15.3
Materials 1.5 0.5 3.3 3.8 0.2 0.6 1.1
Purchased business services 1.0 5.4 3.1 1.3 -0.5 -0.3 8.5
Durable Manufacturing
Multifactor productivity1 1.3 0.7 1.2 3.0 2.5 -0.2 -3.2
Labor productivity 3.1 2.0 4.4 6.0 4.5 0.4 -0.1
Sectoral Output 2.1 1.9 4.2 6.7 1.3 -0.6 0.3
Combined Inputs2 0.8 1.1 3.0 3.7 -1.2 -0.4 3.7
Capital Services 2.1 2.5 2.2 5.3 1.1 1.2 0.9
Labor input3 -0.5 0.3 0.5 1.2 -2.4 -0.7 0.7
Energy -2.1 1.3 0.8 10.3 -5.7 -7.7 -13.8
Materials 1.6 1.1 6.1 5.3 -1.2 -0.2 6.2
Purchased business services 0.8 1.8 3.7 2.7 0.0 -1.4 11.1
NonDurable Manufacturing
Multifactor productivity1 -0.1 -0.4 0.4 0.0 0.7 -1.0 0.5
Labor productivity 1.9 1.2 1.9 2.9 3.7 0.4 -1.6
Sectoral Output 0.7 1.6 1.9 1.4 0.6 -0.3 0.0
Combined Inputs2 0.9 2.1 1.5 1.4 -0.1 0.7 -0.5
Capital Services 2.5 2.8 3.0 3.1 1.8 2.2 2.0
Labor input3 -0.6 0.9 0.8 -0.9 -2.4 -0.2 1.9
Energy -0.4 2.6 2.2 9.9 -5.4 -3.9 -16.0
Materials 0.8 0.6 0.8 1.6 0.8 0.5 -3.4
Purchased business services 1.3 10.0 2.5 -0.4 -1.2 1.0 5.9
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.
Table D. Difference between revised and previous multifactor productivity
and related measures, for selected periods 1987-2016
Average annual growth
1987- 1987- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2007- 2014- 2015-
2016 1990 1995 2000 2007 2016 2015 2016
Manufacturing
Multifactor productivity1 0.0 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.4
Labor productivity 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.4
Sectoral Output 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.5
Combined Inputs2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.1 -0.2 -0.8
Capital Services 0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.2 0.0 -0.2 -0.5
Labor input3 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1
Energy 0.4 0.1 0.0 3.4 -1.7 0.8 3.2 -1.7
Materials 0.1 0.1 0.1 -0.5 -0.1 0.4 1.6 -4.3
Purchased business services -0.7 0.1 -0.1 0.0 0.0 -2.2 -3.8 2.8
Durable Manufacturing
Multifactor productivity1 0.1 0.0 -0.1 -0.1 0.0 0.5 0.6 1.0
Labor productivity 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.1 -0.2
Sectoral Output 0.0 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 -0.4
Combined Inputs2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 -0.4 -0.6 -1.4
Capital Services 0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.0
Labor input3 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 -0.1 -0.1
Energy -0.1 0.1 -0.1 3.9 -1.1 -1.3 4.5 -10.5
Materials -0.1 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.1 -0.5 1.2 -4.9
Purchased business services -0.7 0.1 -0.1 0.2 0.4 -2.7 -7.5 0.6
NonDurable Manufacturing
Multifactor productivity1 -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.1 -0.3 -0.2 -0.3
Labor productivity 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.6
Sectoral Output 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 -0.2
Combined Inputs2 0.0 0.0 0.1 -0.2 -0.1 0.3 0.3 0.1
Capital Services 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3 -0.1 -0.6 -0.8
Labor input3 0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.4
Energy 0.6 0.1 0.0 3.1 -2.1 1.9 2.3 2.9
Materials 0.1 0.0 0.1 -0.9 0.0 0.9 1.1 -1.4
Purchased business services -0.7 0.0 0.1 -0.3 -0.5 -1.6 1.3 5.5
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
BLS includes a measure of the effects of changes in the composition of the
work force for manufacturing sectors and industries. Labor input in
manufacturing sectors and NAICS industry groups is obtained by chained
superlative Tornqvist aggregation of the hours at work, classified by age,
education, and gender with weights determined by each group’s share of
total wages. The labor composition index estimates the effect of shifts
in the age, education, and gender composition of the work force on hours
worked.
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. The aggregate capital services measures are obtained
by Tornqvist aggregation of the capital stocks for each asset type within
each of the eighteen manufacturing 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. Data on investment for fixed assets
are obtained from BEA. Data on inventories are estimated using data from
BEA and additional information from IRS Corporation Income Returns. Data
for land in the farm sector are obtained from 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.
Labor Input
Labor input in manufacturing sectors and industries is obtained by
chained superlative Tornqvist aggregation of the hours at work,
classified by age, education, and gender with weights determined by
each group’s share of total wages. The labor composition index
estimates the effect of shifts in the age, education, and gender
composition of the work force on hours worked. Hours at work data
reflect Productivity and Costs data as of the February 1, 2018
“Productivity and Costs” news release (USDL-18-0153). 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.
The growth rate of labor composition in manufacturing may be
underestimated due to limitations in the source data. The education
proxy does not include training certifications and licensing. The
proxy only includes number of years of schooling.
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).
Intermediate Inputs
In manufacturing, intermediate inputs consist of energy, materials, and
purchased business services, and represent a large share of production
costs. Research has shown that substitution among inputs, including
intermediate inputs, affects productivity change. Therefore, it is
important to account for intermediate inputs in productivity measures
at the industry level. In contrast, the more aggregate productivity
measures compare "value-added" output with two classes of inputs, capital
and labor. Because of these differences in concepts and methodology,
productivity change in manufacturing cannot be directly compared with
changes in private business or private nonfarm business.
Data on intermediate inputs are obtained from BEA based on BEA annual
input-output tables. Tornqvist indexes of each of these three input
classes are derived at the three-digit NAICS level and then aggregated
to the manufacturing sectors. Materials inputs are adjusted to exclude
transactions between establishments within the same sector.
Combined Inputs
The five input indexes (capital services, labor, energy, materials,
and purchased business services) are combined using chained superlative
Tornqvist aggregation, applying weights that represent each component's
share of total costs. Total costs are defined as the current dollar
value of manufacturing sectoral output. 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 is.
In a production process, profit maximizing/cost-minimizing firms
adjust the factor proportions of capital and labor if the price of
one factor falls relative to the price of the other factor; there
would be 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 http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm.
Sectoral Output
The output concept used for multifactor productivity in manufacturing is
“sectoral output”. Sectoral output equals gross output (sales, receipts,
and other operating income, plus commodity taxes plus changes
in inventories), excluding transactions between establishments within
the same sector. In contrast, the output concept used for private
business and private nonfarm business is “real value-added”. Real
value-added output in private business equals gross domestic product
less general government, government enterprises, private households
(including the rental value of owner-occupied real estate), and
non-profit institutions. Real value-added output excludes intermediate
transactions between businesses.
The output index for manufacturing is constructed using a chained
superlative index (Tornqvist) of three-digit NAICS industry outputs.
Industry output is measured as sectoral output, the total value of
goods and services leaving the industry. The indexes of industry
output are calculated with the Tornqvist index formula. This index
formula aggregates the growth rates of the various industry outputs
between two periods, using their relative shares in industry value
of production averaged over the two periods as weights.
Manufacturing industry output measures for 2016 and earlier years are
constructed primarily using data from the economic censuses and annual surveys
of the U.S. Census Bureau together with data data on on price changes
primarily from BLS. These measures have been revised due to new and revised
data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, used in part to construct
intra-industry transactions. Manufacturing industry output for 2017 is
estimated based on historical relationships between BLS sectoral output, BLS
price indexes, and data on industrial production from the Federal Reserve
Board.
Multifactor Productivity
The manufacturing multifactor productivity measures describe the
relationship between output in real terms and the inputs involved
in its production. Multifactor productivity measures are not
intended to capture the specific contributions of labor, capital,
or intermediate inputs. Rather, they are designed to measure the
joint influences on economic growth of technological change,
efficiency improvements, returns to scale, reallocation of resources
and other factors of economic growth, allowing for the effects of
capital, labor, and intermediate inputs. The multifactor productivity
indexes are derived by dividing an output index by an index of the
combined inputs of labor, capital services, energy, non-energy
materials, and purchased business services.
Other information
Comprehensive tables containing more detailed data than that which
is published in this press release are available upon request at
202-691-5606 or at http://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 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 at http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprtech.pdf. General
information is available on the BLS Multifactor Productivity website at
http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprover.htm. Additional data not contained in
the release can be obtained in print or at http://www.bls.gov/mfp. A
number of comprehensive tables set up as zip files can be obtained at
http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. Methods for measuring manufacturing
multifactor productivity are discussed in the July 1995 issue of the
Monthly Labor Review, "Measurement of productivity growth in U.S.
manufacturing”. See http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprgul95.pdf.
Table 1. Manufacturing sector: productivity and related measures for the
1987-2017 period
Annual percent change from previous year
Productivity Inputs
Output
per Multi- Pur- Com-
unit factor Sec- Capi- chased bined
Labor of pro- toral tal busi- units
produc- capital ducti- out- Ser- Mate- ness of all
Year tivity1 services vity2 put Labor3 vices Energy rials services Inputs4
1988 2.0 1.8 2.3 4.1 2.3 2.3 4.4 -1.9 8.7 1.8
1989 -0.3 -1.6 -0.7 1.0 1.7 2.7 -0.5 -0.2 6.0 1.8
1990 3.3 -2.6 -0.9 0.3 -2.3 2.9 2.1 3.7 1.6 1.2
1991 1.9 -4.2 -0.9 -1.8 -3.0 2.6 -0.3 -0.9 -0.7 -0.9
1992 5.9 2.4 -0.9 4.9 -0.1 2.4 -0.9 14.9 7.4 5.9
1993 2.4 1.3 2.3 3.6 2.1 2.3 3.2 -0.1 0.7 1.3
1994 2.8 2.8 2.3 5.3 3.2 2.4 3.5 2.4 3.7 2.9
1995 3.5 0.8 1.9 4.1 1.1 3.3 2.5 1.2 4.6 2.1
1996 4.2 0.1 -0.1 4.2 0.5 4.1 -2.8 11.3 -0.7 4.2
1997 4.8 2.1 2.5 6.9 2.5 4.7 -2.2 6.3 3.8 4.2
1998 4.4 -0.2 1.0 4.7 0.9 4.9 0.3 5.4 4.8 3.7
1999 5.6 -0.1 2.5 3.9 -1.2 4.0 44.0 -0.2 0.5 1.4
2000 4.1 -0.5 3.1 2.8 -0.6 3.3 17.6 -3.3 -1.9 -0.3
2001 2.5 -6.4 -1.4 -4.2 -6.0 2.3 16.7 -8.4 2.4 -2.8
2002 8.0 -1.0 2.5 0.4 -6.0 1.5 -34.2 8.6 -6.1 -2.0
2003 6.2 0.1 5.2 1.0 -4.0 0.8 -17.9 -9.0 1.0 -4.1
2004 2.9 1.7 2.5 2.2 -0.1 0.5 0.5 6.5 -13.8 -0.3
2005 5.0 2.7 0.7 4.0 -0.5 1.3 18.1 4.9 7.1 3.2
2006 1.2 0.0 2.3 1.7 0.8 1.7 -19.0 -3.5 5.3 -0.6
2007 4.6 0.7 0.5 3.0 -0.7 2.4 10.4 4.4 2.2 2.5
2008 -0.6 -7.6 0.6 -4.7 -3.0 3.2 4.7 -7.8 -17.1 -5.3
2009 1.8 -12.8 -3.7 -11.6 -12.3 1.5 -25.5 -11.8 -1.2 -8.2
2010 5.7 5.1 3.7 6.1 0.9 0.9 -4.3 4.5 2.9 2.2
2011 0.7 1.5 -0.7 2.8 2.1 1.2 9.9 8.0 -4.0 3.5
2012 -1.0 -0.3 -1.8 1.2 2.6 1.5 1.1 4.0 4.2 3.1
2013 1.4 0.2 -0.3 2.2 1.0 2.1 4.2 4.2 0.8 2.6
2014 -0.3 -0.9 0.7 1.3 1.9 2.2 -10.3 0.3 -1.0 0.6
2015 -1.5 -2.4 -1.3 -0.6 1.1 1.9 -8.6 -0.1 1.7 0.7
2016 -0.2 -1.8 -2.8 -0.1 0.6 1.8 -2.5 5.1 4.1 2.8
2017 -0.4 -1.0 -1.4 0.4 1.1 1.5 -15.3 1.1 8.5 1.9
1. Output per hour worked.
2. Output per combined units of labor input, capital services, energy, material
and purchased business services.
3. Hours at work by age, education, and gender group, weighted by each group’s
share of total wages.
4. The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar
cost.
Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) develops productivity measures
using output data published by the Bureau of the Census, U.S.
Department of Commerce, and modified by BLS. Compensation and hours
data are from the BLS. Capital measures are based on data supplied
by the BEA, U.S. Department of Commerce. See also Technical Notes in
this release.
Table 2. Manufacturing sector: indexes of productivity and related measures,
1987-2017
Indexes 2012=100
Productivity Inputs
Output
per Multi- Pur- Com-
unit factor Sec- Capi- chased bined
Labor of pro- toral tal busi- units
produc- capital ducti- out- Ser- Mate- ness of all
Year tivity1 services vity2 put Labor3 vices Energy rials services Inputs4
1987 45.0 117.7 78.4 64.7 123.0 55.0 97.2 71.5 84.6 82.6
1988 45.9 119.8 80.2 67.4 125.9 56.2 101.5 70.2 91.9 84.0
1989 45.8 117.8 79.6 68.1 128.0 57.8 100.9 70.0 97.4 85.5
1990 47.3 114.8 78.9 68.3 125.0 59.5 103.1 72.6 99.0 86.5
1991 48.2 109.9 78.2 67.0 121.3 61.0 102.8 71.9 98.3 85.8
1992 51.1 112.6 77.4 70.3 121.2 62.5 101.9 82.7 105.6 90.8
1993 52.3 114.0 79.2 72.8 123.8 63.9 105.2 82.6 106.4 91.9
1994 53.7 117.2 81.1 76.7 127.7 65.5 108.8 84.6 110.4 94.6
1995 55.6 118.1 82.6 79.8 129.1 67.6 111.6 85.6 115.4 96.6
1996 57.9 118.1 82.6 83.2 129.8 70.4 108.5 95.2 114.7 100.7
1997 60.7 120.6 84.7 88.9 133.0 73.7 106.1 101.2 119.0 105.0
1998 63.4 120.4 85.5 93.1 134.2 77.3 106.4 106.6 124.8 108.9
1999 67.0 120.2 87.6 96.7 132.7 80.5 153.2 106.4 125.4 110.4
2000 69.7 119.7 90.3 99.5 131.9 83.1 180.2 102.9 123.0 110.1
2001 71.5 112.0 89.1 95.3 124.0 85.1 210.2 94.2 125.9 107.0
2002 77.2 110.8 91.3 95.7 116.6 86.4 138.4 102.3 118.3 104.8
2003 81.9 111.0 96.1 96.6 111.9 87.1 113.6 93.1 119.4 100.6
2004 84.3 112.9 98.5 98.7 111.8 87.5 114.2 99.1 102.9 100.2
2005 88.6 115.9 99.2 102.7 111.2 88.6 134.9 104.0 110.1 103.5
2006 89.6 116.0 101.5 104.4 112.2 90.1 109.3 100.3 116.0 102.9
2007 93.8 116.7 102.1 107.6 111.3 92.2 120.7 104.7 118.5 105.4
2008 93.2 107.8 102.7 102.6 107.9 95.1 126.3 96.5 98.2 99.9
2009 94.9 94.0 98.9 90.7 94.6 96.5 94.1 85.2 97.1 91.7
2010 100.4 98.8 102.6 96.2 95.5 97.4 90.1 89.0 99.9 93.8
2011 101.0 100.3 101.9 98.8 97.5 98.5 99.0 96.1 95.9 97.0
2012 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2013 101.4 100.2 99.7 102.2 101.0 102.1 104.2 104.2 100.8 102.6
2014 101.0 99.3 100.3 103.6 102.9 104.3 93.5 104.5 99.8 103.3
2015 99.5 96.9 99.1 103.0 104.1 106.3 85.4 104.4 101.5 104.0
2016 99.3 95.2 96.3 102.9 104.7 108.2 83.4 109.8 105.7 106.9
2017 98.8 94.2 94.9 103.3 105.8 109.8 70.6 110.9 114.7 108.9
1. Output per hour worked.
2. Output per combined units of labor input, capital services, energy, material
and purchased business services.
3. Hours at work by age, education, and gender group, weighted by each group’s
share of total wages.
4. The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar
cost.
Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) develops productivity measures
using output data published by the Bureau of the Census, U.S.
Department of Commerce, and modified by BLS. Compensation and hours
data are from the BLS. Capital measures are based on data supplied
by the BEA, U.S. Department of Commerce. See also Technical Notes in
this release.
Table 3. Multifactor productivity measures for manufacturing industries
in selected periods, 1987-2017
Compound annual growth rates
1987- 1987- 1990- 1995- 2000- 2007- 2016-
2017 1990 1995 2000 2007 2017 2017
Manufacturing 0.6 0.2 0.9 1.8 1.8 -0.7 -1.4
Nondurable -0.1 -0.4 0.4 0.0 0.7 -1.0 0.5
manufacturing
Food, beverage, and -0.3 -1.4 1.3 -1.4 0.7 -0.9 -0.6
tobacco products
Textile mills and 0.7 1.0 0.6 1.9 0.7 -0.1 -0.4
textile product
mills
Apparel, leather, and -0.3 0.0 2.6 0.1 1.9 -3.6 -10.8
allied products
Paper products 0.1 -0.3 -0.1 0.2 0.8 -0.2 -0.2
Printing and related 1.0 0.3 -0.6 0.9 2.7 0.8 4.0
support activities
Petroleum and coal 0.5 -1.1 1.7 2.7 0.0 -0.3 1.8
products
Chemical products -0.9 -0.8 -1.1 -0.2 0.9 -2.4 0.8
Plastics and rubber 0.6 0.8 0.3 1.6 0.7 0.1 1.2
products
Durable manufacturing 1.3 0.7 1.2 3.0 2.5 -0.2 -3.2
Wood products 0.1 1.2 -1.6 -0.6 0.8 0.5 -0.4
Nonmetallic mineral 0.1 0.1 0.4 -0.1 0.1 0.0 -1.4
products
Primary metals 0.5 0.9 -0.2 1.1 0.5 0.6 -3.4
Fabricated metal -0.2 -0.2 0.7 -0.1 0.6 -1.3 -1.8
products
Machinery -0.4 1.0 -2.2 -1.3 1.5 -0.8 0.1
Computer and 6.4 4.9 9.1 13.1 6.6 2.3 -3.5
electronic products
Electrical equipment, -0.8 -1.9 -2.5 -2.8 1.8 -0.5 -1.4
appliances, and
components
Transportation 0.0 -1.4 -0.4 0.5 1.7 -0.9 -5.1
equipment
Furniture and related -0.1 -0.8 0.2 0.2 0.1 -0.2 -0.3
products
Miscellaneous 0.7 2.2 -0.5 1.2 1.6 -0.1 -0.1
manufacturing
United States Department of Labor
