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Economic News Release
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Total Factor Productivity in Major Industries News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Friday, November 18, 2022	USDL-22-2181
Technical information: (202) 691-5606 • productivity@bls.gov • 
www.bls.gov/productivity 
Media contact:	       (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY FOR MAJOR INDUSTRIES – 2021

Total factor productivity (TFP) increased in 15 out of 21 major industries in
2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The TFP 
increases in 2021 were primarily due to widespread output growth outpacing 
increases in the combined inputs of capital, labor, energy, materials, and 
services.

Output increased in 20 of 21 major industries in 2021. The 2021 output growth
was the largest in the series for the following industries: arts, 
entertainment, and recreation (+36.5 percent), accommodation and food services
(+32.0 percent), administrative and waste services (+15.8 percent), information
(+13.4 percent), and transportation and warehousing (+11.9 percent). 
(See table 1.) Ten industries with output growth in 2021 have output declines 
over the 2019-2021 time period, illustrating that output for these industries 
is still below their pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. (See table 3.)

Combined inputs increased in 18 of the 21 industries in 2021, driven by strong
growth in labor input and intermediate inputs. (See table 1.) Labor input grew 
in 18 of 21 industries in 2021 but only 8 industries show growth for the 
2019-2021 time period, demonstrating that these 8 industries have yet to 
re-hire labor lost in 2020.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|		Methodology Change for Labor Composition                      |
| Data in this release reflect new methodology and sources for the estimation |
| of labor composition, which is a measure of the changing skill composition  | 
| of the work force. Labor composition is used to adjust the number of hours  |
| worked by industry to estimate labor input.                                 |
| See www.bls.gov/productivity/technical-notes/labor-composition-for-total-   |
| factor-productivity-using-new-method-nov-2022.htm for more information.     |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Total factor productivity is defined as output per unit of combined inputs. 
TFP shows the relationship between changes in real sectoral output and changes
in the combined inputs of capital input (K), labor input (L), and intermediate
inputs (energy (E), materials (M), and services (S)) used in production of
final goods and services. It reflects economic growth that is not due to growth
in measured KLEMS inputs, including technological change, organizational 
changes in the production process, and other efficiency improvements.

Industry spotlight: Arts, entertainment, and recreation

Many industries experienced large growth in TFP and related measures in 2021
but this growth can be misleading without a comparison to 2020 when the 
COVID-19 pandemic struck the U.S. economy. The arts, entertainment, and 
recreation industry experienced record declines in 2020 in TFP and related 
measures and then experienced record growth for these measures in 2021. 
Growth rates from the 2019-2021 period can be used to gauge the effects 
the pandemic had on this industry over the last two years.

The reopening of museums, entertainment venues, sports arenas, and parks
resulted in record output growth of 36.5 percent in 2021, due to historic 
TFP and combined inputs growth of 15.1 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively.
However, this strong growth only partially offset the historic declines
brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, as output, TFP, and combined inputs 
all experienced declines over the 2019-2021 time period. 
(See table 3.) 

Looking at the KLEMS components of combined inputs, the story is similar.
The arts, entertainment, and recreation industry had double digit growth 
in labor, materials, and services, with capital and energy also increasing
in 2021. Yet for the 2019-2021 time period, the change in all inputs except
capital was negative. Thus, although 2021 was a productive year, the arts,
entertainment, and recreation industry has not fully recovered to its 
pre-pandemic levels.  

Total factor productivity and KLEMS as sources of labor productivity growth

As the economy started to rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic, industries
began to re-hire workers displaced in 2020 and increase inputs to production.
As production throughout the economy improved, hours worked increased at a 
slightly slower rate than output which led to labor productivity increases 
among 16 of 21 major industries. (See table 5.) 

Labor productivity can be expressed as the sum of six components: total 
factor productivity growth (TFP), contribution of capital intensity, 
contribution of labor composition, contribution of energy intensity, 
contribution of materials intensity, and the contribution of services 
intensity. The contribution of each KLEMS input is defined as the ratio 
of the services provided by that input to hours worked in the production
process, weighted by its share of sectoral output. Examining input 
contributions and TFP changes reveals the substitution effect of increased
use of an input relative to labor on an industry’s labor productivity. 
(See table 5.) 

Of the 16 industries with labor productivity growth in 2021, TFP was the
largest contributor to labor productivity growth in 10 industries, with 
services intensity being the largest contributor for five of the remaining 
industries. Capital intensity fell in 15 of the 21 industries measured, as 
hours growth outpaced capital input growth. Changes in labor composition 
were negative or zero for all industries in 2021, as workers with less 
experience were most negatively impacted by the pandemic, returned to work.

TFP and input contributions to output 

The large productivity rebound among major industries in 2021 led to an 
overall increase in output at the private business sector. The nation's output
can be viewed as the sum of three components: total factor productivity, 
contribution of capital input, and contribution of labor input. TFP 
contributed 4.2 percentage points of the rise in output, while labor input
contributed 2.3 percentage points of the increase. This output growth is 
the largest since 2010, the first year following the Great Recession of 
2008-09. As in 2010, TFP is the predominant contributor to private business 
output. However, the rebound from the COVID-19 recession is unique with 
labor input’s large contribution to growth. 

The private business sector can be divided into four sectors: 
goods producing; information and communication technology (ICT); finance, 
insurance, and real estate (FIRE); and service providing. Looking at these
sectors provides further insights on how the U.S. recovered the year 
following the COVID-19 recession compared to the year after the Great 
Recession of 2008 and 2009. (See technical note for industry makeup
of each sector.)

TFP’s contribution to output

The total factor productivity contribution of 4.2 percentage points to private
business output in 2021 was widespread, with all four sectors experiencing
positive contributions, led by the service providing sector which had a 
positive contribution of 2.5 percentage points. Within the service providing
sector, accommodation and food services and professional, scientific, and 
technical services industries were the main upward drivers, with a 
0.6-percentage point and 0.5-percentage point contribution, respectively. 
By contrast, in 2010 after the Great Recession, the goods producing sector
made the largest contribution (1.1 percentage point) to TFP growth. 
(See tables 6 and 7.) 

Labor’s contribution to output

In 2021, labor input saw positive contributions to private business output
within all four aggregated sectors. The service providing sector had the 
largest positive contribution in 2021 (1.7 percentage points), led by 
transportation and warehousing (0.3 percentage point) and professional and 
technical services (0.3 percentage point).  By contrast, the labor 
contribution to output in 2010 was negative in three of the four aggregated 
sectors but were offset by the positive contribution of the services 
providing sector (0.2 percentage points). Of note is the similar behavior 
of the service providing sector during 2021. This labor-intensive sector, 
which was the hardest hit by the pandemic, is an important part of the 
economic recovery. (See tables 6 and 7.)

Capital’s contribution to output

Capital input’s positive contribution in 2021 and after the Great Recession
reflects the stability of capital stock after downturns. In 2021 all sectors
demonstrated a positive contribution of capital, resulting in a 0.9-percentage
point contribution of capital input to private business output, while these 
four sectors’ capital input contribution was only 0.3-percentage point in 2010
after the Great Recession. Given the financial crisis of 2009, capital in the 
FIRE sector had a negative impact on the recovery from the Great Recession, 
yet had a large positive boost to output in 2021. The 0.2-percentage point 
contribution of the FIRE sector was driven by the finance and insurance 
industry with a contribution of 0.2 percentage point. In the year after the 
Great Recession, this industry only had a negative contribution of 0.1 
percentage point. (See table 6 and 7.) The goods producing sector
increased its contribution of capital to output from 0.1 percentage point in 
2010 to 0.2 percentage point in 2021.


Technical Notes 

Goods producing sector

This sector contains industries within agriculture, forestry, fishery, and
hunting (NAICS 11), mining (NAICS 21), utilities (NAICS 22), construction 
(NAICS 23), and manufacturing (NAICS 31-33) except computer and electronic 
products (NAICS 334).

Information and communications technology (ICT) sector

Information and communication technology (ICT) contains the following 
industries: computer and electronic products (NAICS 334), broadcasting and 
telecommunications (NAICS 515,517), data processing, internet publishing, 
and other information services (NAICS 518,519) and computer systems design 
and related services (NAICS 5415). This definition is generally comparable
to that used by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 
(OECD), which defines the ICT sector using the International Standard 
Industrial Classification (ISIC) (OECD 2011).

FIRE sector

The finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) sector contains industries
within finance and insurance (NAICS 52) and real estate and rental and 
leasing (NAICS 53).

Service providing sector

This sector contains industries within trade (NAICS 42,44-45), transportation
and warehousing (NAICS 48-49), publishing, except internet (includes software)
(NAICS 511) and motion picture and sound recording (NAICS 512), and industries
within services (NAICS 54-81) except computer systems design and related 
services (NAICS 5415).

Capital input

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 industry 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 

Hours at work data reflect Productivity and Costs data as of the 
November 3, 2022 “Productivity and Costs” news release (USDL- 22-2096) and 
reflects a new methodology for estimating hours worked. More information on 
the methodology change can be found at 
www.bls.gov/productivity/technical-notes/labor-productivity-hours-worked
-method-using-ces-all-employee-hours-nov-2022.htm.
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. 

Energy, materials, and services

Data on energy, materials, and services are obtained from 
BEA based on BEA annual input-output tables. Tornqvist indexes of each of 
these three input classes are derived at the NAICS industry level and then 
aggregated to the industries. Materials inputs are adjusted to exclude 
transactions between establishments within the same industry for goods 
producing industries. Services are adjusted to exclude 
transactions between establishments within the same industry for all 
non-goods producing industries.

Sectoral output 

The output concept used to measure total factor productivity for industries
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 industry. 

2021 manufacturing output measures are estimated based on historical 
relationships between BLS industrial output, BLS price indexes, and data
on industrial production from the Federal Reserve Board. For select service 
providing industries, output measures are estimated using data from the 
Quarterly Services Survey from the Census Bureau. For all other 
nonmanufacturing industries, sectoral output is based on indexes of real
quantity and cost measures from the BEA. Data sources by industry for can 
be found at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/msp/data.htm. 

Other information 

Detailed information on methods used in this release can be found in 
the BLS Handbook of Methods Productivity Measures: Business Sector and
Major Sector section at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/msp/home.htm.

Comprehensive tables containing more detailed data than that which is
published in this news release are available upon request at 202-691-5606
or at www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. Industry specific contributions to 
output are available at www.bls.gov/mfp/contributions-to-output.htm.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 
7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Total factor productivity and related data, 2021
Industry2012 NAICS CodePercent Change
TFPOutputCombined InputsCapital InputLabor InputIntermediate Inputs[1]

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

11-5.4-5.5-0.13.6-1.2-2.7

Mining

21-3.90.14.2-1.2-0.413.8

Utilities

22-1.71.43.12.9-0.34.9

Construction

23-0.61.01.64.33.5-0.4

Manufacturing

31-333.33.0-0.31.22.8-3.5

Durable manufacturing

321,327,332.84.01.10.42.90.0

Nondurable manufacturing

31,322-3263.41.9-1.42.02.7-4.3

Wholesale trade

421.511.09.41.12.120.8

Retail trade

44,45-0.66.47.12.33.312.2

Transportation and warehousing

48-490.011.912.00.99.219.7

Information

514.613.48.35.36.413.1

Finance and insurance

524.04.30.33.40.5-4.0

Real estate and rental and leasing

531.44.83.40.43.85.2

Professional and technical services

544.210.15.76.34.77.5

Management of companies

556.27.91.60.30.53.5

Admin and waste services

563.915.811.44.57.219.2

Educational services

611.96.04.11.91.36.2

Health care and social assistance

621.86.14.22.93.74.9

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

7115.136.518.61.216.731.2

Accommodation and food services

7212.432.017.50.08.539.0

Other services, except government

810.92.61.62.48.0-4.5

[1] Intermediate inputs is an aggregation of energy, materials, and services


Table 2. Total factor productivity intermediate inputs, 2021
Industry2012 NAICS CodePercent Change
Energy InputMaterials InputServices Input

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

11-7.8-1.1-3.6

Mining

2115.523.27.8

Utilities

220.1-4.311.9

Construction

234.6-0.6-0.7

Manufacturing

31-33-3.9-4.8-0.5

Durable manufacturing

321,327,33-1.5-2.04.4

Nondurable manufacturing

31,322-326-5.8-3.4-7.3

Wholesale trade

4228.316.520.9

Retail trade

44,4517.9-2.014.2

Transportation and warehousing

48-4913.04.824.2

Information

51-3.61.416.4

Finance and insurance

52-15.4-14.5-3.3

Real estate and rental and leasing

535.513.84.6

Professional and technical services

54-7.86.87.9

Management of companies

55-0.420.32.1

Admin and waste services

56-2.86.622.9

Educational services

61-1.2-1.88.5

Health care and social assistance

62-22.39.14.5

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

718.624.033.6

Accommodation and food services

7244.440.138.0

Other services, except government

81-36.9-29.011.9

Table 3. Total factor productivty and related data, 2019-2021
Industry2012 NAICS CodeAverage annual percent change
TFPOutputCombined InputsCapital InputLabor InputIntermediate Inputs[1]

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

11-2.00.92.92.0-0.84.9

Mining

21-0.3-8.7-8.4-0.8-11.8-13.1

Utilities

22-0.2-0.7-0.52.9-0.7-3.5

Construction

23-0.31.41.74.7-1.23.7

Manufacturing

31-331.2-1.9-3.11.2-1.4-7.3

Durable manufacturing

321,327,330.9-2.2-3.00.5-2.4-6.0

Nondurable manufacturing

31,322-3261.4-1.6-3.01.90.3-6.3

Wholesale trade

422.03.21.30.8-2.04.1

Retail trade

44,45-0.83.74.62.3-0.19.7

Transportation and warehousing

48-49-3.8-1.42.51.53.41.8

Information

513.07.64.55.41.25.8

Finance and insurance

521.93.01.13.91.3-2.6

Real estate and rental and leasing

53-0.50.51.00.7-0.31.3

Professional and technical services

542.85.52.66.40.45.8

Management of companies

552.34.92.50.42.52.9

Admin and waste services

561.54.22.64.60.35.2

Educational services

61-3.7-3.60.11.9-3.41.8

Health care and social assistance

62-0.1-0.6-0.62.90.5-2.3

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

71-1.4-9.3-8.11.5-6.7-13.0

Accommodation and food services

723.41.2-2.10.4-7.63.8

Other services, except government

81-0.2-4.1-3.92.3-3.0-5.6

[1] Intermediate inputs is an aggregation of energy, materials, and services


Table 4. Total factor productivity intermediate inputs, 2019-2021
Industry2012 NAICS CodeAverage annual percent change
Energy InputMaterials InputServices Input

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

110.38.12.1

Mining

21-11.0-4.1-18.1

Utilities

22-3.5-6.7-2.9

Construction

234.30.713.3

Manufacturing

31-33-13.7-7.9-5.3

Durable manufacturing

321,327,33-13.5-6.8-3.7

Nondurable manufacturing

31,322-326-14.0-5.5-7.6

Wholesale trade

4211.07.33.7

Retail trade

44,4514.97.39.8

Transportation and warehousing

48-49-6.6-6.55.7

Information

51-4.8-0.67.6

Finance and insurance

52-7.5-10.8-2.2

Real estate and rental and leasing

53-2.1-4.22.1

Professional and technical services

54-1.25.86.0

Management of companies

556.518.51.3

Admin and waste services

56-4.7-1.27.0

Educational services

61-10.74.62.0

Health care and social assistance

62-13.21.1-3.0

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

71-25.8-22.9-10.2

Accommodation and food services

729.05.42.7

Other services, except government

81-12.2-15.7-0.3

Table 5. Sources of labor productivity, 2021
Industry2012 NAICS CodePrecent changePrecentage Point
Labor ProductivityTFPCapital IntensityLabor CompositionEnergy IntensityMaterials IntensityServices Intensity

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

11-5.0-5.41.5-0.1-0.3-0.1-0.6

Mining

210.2-3.9-0.5-0.10.42.81.6

Utilities

221.8-1.71.30.00.1-0.12.1

Construction

23-3.5-0.60.0-0.50.0-1.8-0.6

Manufacturing

31-33-0.13.3-0.6-0.1-0.1-2.1-0.5

Durable manufacturing

321,327,330.92.8-0.7-0.10.0-1.20.2

Nondurable manufacturing

31,322-326-1.33.4-0.3-0.1-0.2-2.7-1.3

Wholesale trade

427.61.5-0.5-0.30.30.36.3

Retail trade

44,452.4-0.6-0.3-0.20.3-0.33.6

Transportation and warehousing

48-491.90.0-1.3-0.30.2-0.23.5

Information

516.34.6-0.5-0.10.0-0.32.5

Finance and insurance

523.04.00.7-0.3-0.1-0.1-1.1

Real estate and rental and leasing

530.81.4-1.20.00.10.30.3

Professional and technical services

544.84.20.1-0.2-0.10.10.6

Management of companies

555.36.2-0.2-1.1-0.10.6-0.1

Admin and waste services

566.03.9-0.4-1.0-0.1-0.23.8

Educational services

614.11.90.0-0.2-0.1-0.42.8

Health care and social assistance

622.11.8-0.10.0-0.30.60.2

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

7116.015.1-2.9-0.3-0.10.34.0

Accommodation and food services

7219.412.4-2.0-0.80.72.55.8

Other services, except government

81-6.10.9-0.4-0.5-0.6-6.20.8

Table 6. Industry contributions[1] to private business output by component 2010
Industry2012 NAICS CodePrecentage Point
TFPCapitalLabor

Goods producing sector

11-331.050.05-0.10

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

11-0.040.000.00

Mining

21-0.15-0.010.02

Utilities

220.190.03-0.01

Construction

23-0.02-0.03-0.20

Manufacturing

31-331.070.070.09

Durable Manufacturing[2]

321,327,330.820.000.07

Nondurable Manufacturing

31,322-3260.250.070.02

ICT[3]

51x0.480.19-0.05

Information

510.220.05-0.05

FIRE

52-530.34-0.16-0.07

Finance and insurance

52-0.18-0.13-0.03

Real estate and rental and leasing

530.52-0.03-0.04

Services

42-49,54-811.020.200.23

Wholesale trade

420.31-0.02-0.06

Retail trade

44, 45-0.010.030.06

Transportation and Warehousing

48-490.13-0.020.03

Professional and technical services[4]

540.060.04-0.05

Management of companies

550.140.010.01

Admin and waste services

560.100.020.14

Educational services

610.010.010.02

Health care and social assistance

62-0.140.060.15

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

710.070.000.00

Accommodation and food services

720.130.000.00

Other services, except government

810.000.00-0.01

[1]Contributions may not sum due to aggregation, rounding, and integration of the top line to industry

[2] Goods producing except for computer and electronic products (NAICS 334)

[3] Information and communication technology sector (NAICS 51x) is the information major industry (NAICS 51)

less publishing, except internet (includes software) (NAICS 511) and motion picture and sound recording (NAICS 512),

plus computer and electronic products (NAICS 334) and computer systems design and related services (NAICS 5415)

[4] Service providing sector, except for computer systems design and related services (NAICS 5415)


Table 7. Industry contributions[1] to private business output by component, 2021
Industry2012 NAICS CodePrecentage Point
TFPCapitalLabor

Goods producing sector

11-330.520.190.33

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

11-0.140.030.00

Mining

21-0.09-0.01-0.01

Utilities

22-0.060.040.00

Construction

23-0.070.050.16

Manufacturing

31-330.880.070.18

Durable Manufacturing[2]

321,327,330.420.000.11

Nondurable Manufacturing

31,322-3260.460.070.06

ICT[3]

51x0.400.250.17

Information

510.310.010.09

FIRE

52-530.730.180.13

Finance and insurance

520.530.160.08

Real estate and rental and leasing

530.200.020.05

Services

42-49,54-812.530.261.72

Wholesale trade

420.170.030.08

Retail trade

44, 45-0.070.040.14

Transportation and Warehousing

48-490.040.010.27

Professional and technical services[4]

540.490.080.27

Management of companies

550.260.000.01

Admin and waste services

560.270.030.24

Educational services

610.020.000.01

Health care and social assistance

620.210.050.20

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

710.180.000.09

Accommodation and food services

720.640.000.20

Other services, except government

810.030.010.13

[1] Contributions may not sum due to aggregation, rounding, and integration of the top line to industry

[2] Goods producing except for computer and electronic products (NAICS 334)

[3] Information and communication technology sector (NAICS 51x) is the information major industry (NAICS 51)

less publishing, except internet (includes software) (NAICS 511) and motion picture and sound recording (NAICS 512),

plus computer and electronic products (NAICS 334) and computer systems design and related services (NAICS 5415)

[4] Service providing sector, except for computer systems design and related services (NAICS 5415)


Last Modified Date: November 18, 2022