Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL 19-0188
8:30 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Technical information: (202) 691-5606 Productivity@bls.gov www.bls.gov/lpc
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov
(NOTE: Due to the lapse in appropriations for some federal agencies providing source data,
nonfarm business productivity and all unit labor costs data are not available for fourth quarter
and annual average 2018. These data will be released in the future.)
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
Fourth Quarter and Annual Averages 2018, Preliminary
Manufacturing sector labor productivity increased 1.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2018, the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 2.3 percent and hours worked
increased 1.0 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.)
From the fourth quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2018, manufacturing productivity increased 0.7
percent, reflecting a 2.8-percent increase in output and a 2.1-percent increase in hours worked. (See
tables A1 and 3.) Annual average productivity increased 0.6 percent from 2017 to 2018. (See table C1.)
Durable manufacturing labor productivity increased 2.6 percent, with output increasing 5.7 percent and
hours increasing 3.0 percent. Labor productivity in the nondurable manufacturing sector increased 1.2
percent, with output declining 1.2 percent and hours declining 2.4 percent. (See tables A1, 4, and 5.)
Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of
hours worked by all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.
Revised measures
Revised and previously published measures for the third quarter of 2018 are shown in tables A2 and B1
and cover the following major sectors: nonfarm business, business, manufacturing, and nonfinancial
corporations.
In the third quarter of 2018, nonfarm business productivity was revised down 0.1 percentage point, to
an increase of 2.2 percent. (See table B1.) Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 0.9
percent in the third quarter, the same rate as previously reported.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity was revised up 0.1 percentage point, to an increase of 1.1
percent. Manufacturing unit labor costs decreased 1.3 percent, a 0.1-percentage point downward revision
from the previously reported figure.
In the nonfinancial corporate sector, productivity was revised up 0.6 percentage point in the third
quarter of 2018, to an increase of 6.1 percent--the largest increase since a 6.7-percent increase in the
fourth quarter of 2012. This upward revision to productivity is due primarily to a 0.6-percentage point
upward revision to output, with a small contribution from a 0.1-percentage point downward revision
to hours. (See table A2.)
Annual averages
Table C1 presents annual average changes for the most recent 5 years for the total manufacturing
sector. In the manufacturing sector, productivity increased 0.6 percent in 2018, as output increased 2.6
percent and hours worked increased 2.0 percent. The increases in annual average output and hours were
the largest since 2011 and 2012, respectively. Manufacturing sector productivity has grown less than 1.0
percent in each of the last 8 years. The average annual rate of manufacturing productivity growth from
2007 to 2018 is 0.6 percent, well below the long-term rate from 1987 to 2018 of 2.6 percent.
Table C1 also shows annual average changes for hours worked in the nonfarm business sector. Hours worked
increased 2.2 percent in the nonfarm business sector in 2018. Annual averages for 2018 are not available
for the other nonfarm business sector measures.
Quarterly and annual data, where available, for all sectors from 2016 to 2018 appear in tables 1-6. Full
historical measures can be found on the Productivity and Costs home page: www.bls.gov/lpc/#data.
______________
The revised Productivity and Costs news release for fourth-quarter 2018 is scheduled to be
released on Thursday, March 7, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. (EST).
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Data in this release do not reflect the annual benchmark revision of the BLS Current Employment
Statistics program data released February 1, 2019. This benchmark will be incorporated in our next
release on March 7, 2019.
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Table A1. Labor productivity growth and related measures - preliminary fourth-quarter 2018
(percent change from previous quarter at annual rate and from same quarter a year ago)
Labor Hours Hourly Real hourly Unit labor
Sector Percent change from: productivity Output worked compensation compensation costs
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Nonfarm business Previous quarter N.A. N.A. 1.6 N.A. N.A. N.A.
A year ago N.A. N.A. 1.9 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Business Previous quarter N.A. N.A. 1.7 N.A. N.A. N.A.
A year ago N.A. N.A. 1.8 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Manufacturing Previous quarter 1.3 2.3 1.0 N.A. N.A. N.A.
A Year ago 0.7 2.8 2.1 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Durable Previous quarter 2.6 5.7 3.0 N.A. N.A. N.A.
manufacturing A year ago 1.3 4.4 3.1 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Nondurable Previous quarter 1.2 -1.2 -2.4 N.A. N.A. N.A.
manufacturing A year ago 0.7 1.1 0.4 N.A. N.A. N.A.
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Table A2. Labor productivity growth and related measures - revised and previously published third-quarter 2018
(percent change from previous quarter at annual rate)
Labor Hours Hourly Real hourly Unit labor
Sector productivity Output worked compensation compensation costs
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Nonfinancial Revised 6.1 7.2 1.0 3.3 1.3 -2.7
corporate Previously published 5.5 6.6 1.1 3.2 1.2 -2.1
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Table B1. Labor productivity growth and related measures - revised and previously published third-quarter 2018
(percent change from previous quarter at annual rate)
Labor Hours Hourly Real hourly Unit labor
Sector productivity Output worked compensation compensation costs
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Nonfarm business Revised 2.2 4.0 1.7 3.2 1.2 0.9
Previously published 2.3 4.1 1.8 3.1 1.1 0.9
Business Revised 1.8 3.9 2.1 2.9 0.9 1.1
Previously published 1.9 4.1 2.1 2.8 0.8 0.9
Manufacturing Revised 1.1 4.2 3.1 -0.2 -2.2 -1.3
Previously published 1.0 4.1 3.1 -0.2 -2.2 -1.2
Durable Revised 2.2 5.8 3.6 0.5 -1.5 -1.7
manufacturing Previously published 1.7 5.2 3.5 0.3 -1.7 -1.4
Nondurable Revised 0.2 2.6 2.3 -1.6 -3.6 -1.9
manufacturing Previously published 0.5 2.9 2.4 -1.4 -3.3 -1.9
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Table C1. Labor productivity growth and related measures – annual average changes: 2014-2018
Labor Hours Hourly Real hourly Unit labor
Sector Year productivity Output worked compensation compensation costs
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Nonfarm business........2018 N.A. N.A. 2.2 N.A. N.A. N.A.
........................2017 1.1 2.7 1.6 3.4 1.2 2.2
........................2016 0.1 1.6 1.5 1.1 -0.2 0.9
........................2015 1.3 3.5 2.1 3.1 2.9 1.8
........................2014 0.8 3.1 2.3 2.8 1.1 2.0
Manufacturing...........2018 0.6 2.6 2.0 N.A. N.A. N.A.
........................2017 0.7 1.8 1.0 3.3 1.1 2.6
........................2016 0.3 0.4 0.0 0.6 -0.7 0.3
........................2015 -1.5 -0.6 1.0 2.5 2.4 4.1
........................2014 0.0 1.6 1.6 2.8 1.0 2.8
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