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Economic News Release
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Fourth Quarter and Annual Averages 2024, Revised



Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                                 USDL 25-0295
8:30 a.m. (ET) Thursday, March 6, 2025

Technical information: (202) 691-5606 • Productivity@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/productivity
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov     

                                        Productivity and Costs
                        Fourth Quarter and Annual Averages 2024, Revised

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, the 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 2.4 percent and hours worked 
increased 0.8 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annualized 
rates.) From the same quarter a year ago, nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.0 
percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. Annual average productivity was revised up 0.4 percentage point 
to an increase of 2.7 percent from 2023 to 2024. (See tables A1, C1, and 2.)

Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, 
reflecting a 3.8-percent increase in hourly compensation and a 1.5-percent increase in productivity. Unit 
labor costs increased 2.0 percent over the last four quarters. (See tables A1 and 2.)

BLS calculates unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity. Increases in 
hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor costs and increases in productivity tend to reduce them. 
Real hourly compensation, which takes into account consumer prices, increased 0.7 percent in the fourth 
quarter of 2024, and increased 1.2 percent over the last four quarters.

Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of 
hours worked by all workers, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. During the 
current business cycle, starting in the fourth quarter of 2019, labor productivity has grown at an 
annualized rate of 1.9 percent, reflecting a 2.5-percent rate of growth in output and a 0.6-percent rate of 
growth in hours worked. The 1.9-percent annualized rate of productivity growth in the current business 
cycle thus far is higher than the 1.5-percent rate of the previous business cycle from the fourth quarter of 
2007 through the fourth quarter of 2019, and is below the long-term rate of 2.1 percent since the first 
quarter of 1947. 

Manufacturing sector labor productivity increased 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, as output 
decreased 1.3 percent and hours worked decreased 1.6 percent. In the durable manufacturing sector, 
productivity decreased 1.1 percent, reflecting a 3.2-percent decrease in output and a 2.1-percent decrease 
in hours worked. Nondurable manufacturing sector productivity increased 1.4 percent, as output 
increased 0.6 percent and hours worked decreased 0.8 percent. Total manufacturing sector productivity 
increased 0.4 percent from the same quarter a year ago. (See tables A1, 3, 4, and 5.)

Unit labor costs in the total manufacturing sector increased 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, 
reflecting a 4.0-percent increase in hourly compensation and a 0.3-percent increase in productivity. 
Manufacturing unit labor costs increased 2.0 percent from the same quarter a year ago. (See tables A1 
and 3.)

Manufacturing sector labor productivity has grown at an annualized rate of 0.3 percent during the 
current business cycle, as output was unchanged (0.0 percent) and hours have declined 0.3 percent. The 
0.3-percent annualized rate of productivity growth in the current business cycle thus far is above the 0.1-
percent rate of the previous business cycle from the fourth quarter of 2007 through the fourth quarter of 
2019 and is below the long-term rate of 2.1 percent since the first quarter of 1987.

The concepts, sources, and methods used for the manufacturing output series differ from those used in 
the business and nonfarm business output series; these output measures are not directly comparable. See 
the Technical Notes for a more detailed explanation. 

Revised measures        

Third quarter, fourth quarter, and annual average data for 2024 were revised to incorporate regular 
updates of source data on output and compensation published by the Department of Commerce on 
February 27, 2025. Quarterly measures of real hourly compensation in 2024 were revised to reflect 
updates to seasonally adjusted data from the BLS Consumer Price Index program released on February 
12, 2025. 

Quarterly and annual measures of hours worked and related measures--including productivity--were 
revised historically for all major sectors. The revisions reflect incorporation of revised BLS Current 
Employment Statistics (CES) program data for employment and hours of employees on nonfarm 
payrolls. CES revisions extended back to 1990, and links from the current to the previous hours worked 
methodology implied small revisions to the historical series. Revisions to employment and hours worked 
from 2020 to 2024 also reflect revised seasonal adjustment of hours worked by nonfarm self-employed 
and unpaid family workers, all farm workers, and employees of government enterprises. These 
measures, based on source data from the BLS Current Population Survey (CPS), are seasonally adjusted 
by the BLS Major Sector Productivity program. Because hours worked were revised for the index base 
year of 2017, indexes of hours worked, productivity, and related measures were revised back to 1947. 

Revised and previously published measures for the fourth quarter of 2024 are shown in table B1 for the 
business, nonfarm business, and manufacturing sectors. In the fourth quarter of 2024, nonfarm 
business productivity was revised up 0.3 percentage point to an increase of 1.5 percent. Output was 
revised up 0.1 percentage point to an increase of 2.4 percent, and hours worked were revised down 0.2 
percentage point to an increase of 0.8 percent. Unit labor costs increased 2.2 percent rather than 
increasing 3.0 percent as previously reported, reflecting a 0.4-percentage point downward revision to 
hourly compensation and a 0.3-percentage point upward revision to labor productivity.  

Manufacturing productivity increased 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 rather than increasing 0.8 
percent as reported last release. This reflects a 0.3-percentage point downward revision to output and a 
0.2-percentage point upward revision to hours worked. A 0.1-percentage point downward revision to 
hourly compensation and the 0.5-percentage point downward revision to productivity produced a 0.4-
percentage point upward revision to unit labor costs, which increased 3.7 percent rather than 3.3 percent 
as previously reported. Productivity was revised down by 0.1 percentage point in the durable 
manufacturing sector and down by 0.8 percentage point in the nondurable manufacturing sector. (See 
table B1.)

In the third quarter of 2024, nonfarm business productivity was revised up to an increase of 2.9 percent 
due to a 0.6-percentage point downward revision to hours worked; output was not revised. Unit labor 
costs decreased 1.5 percent rather than increasing 0.5 percent as previously reported, reflecting a 1.6-
percentage point downward revision to hourly compensation and the 0.6-percentage point upward 
revision to productivity. The downward revision to hourly compensation results from a larger downward 
revision to compensation (-2.1 percentage points) than to hours worked (-0.6 percentage point.)

Manufacturing sector productivity was revised up by 0.2 percentage point in the third quarter of 2024, 
as durable manufacturing productivity was revised up by 0.1 percentage point and nondurable 
manufacturing productivity was revised up by 0.5 percentage point. In the total manufacturing sector, 
unit labor costs were revised up by 1.7 percentage points to an increase of 3.5 percent, reflecting a 3.3-
percentage point upward revision to durable manufacturing unit labor costs and a 1.4-percentage point 
downward revision to nondurable manufacturing unit labor costs. (See table B2.) 

Nonfinancial corporate sector productivity increased 2.5 percent in the third quarter of 2024 rather 
than increasing 3.0 percent as previously reported, reflecting a 1.0-percentage point downward revision 
to output and a 0.5-percentage point downward revision to hours worked. Unit labor costs were revised 
down by 0.8 percentage point to a decrease of 1.2 percent.  (See table A2.)

Annual averages

Table C1 presents annual average changes for the most recent 5 years for the nonfarm business sector 
and the total manufacturing sector. Nonfarm business sector productivity was revised up 0.4 
percentage point to an increase of 2.7 percent in 2024, and was revised up 0.2 percentage point to an 
increase of 1.8 percent in 2023.

Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector were revised down 0.3 percentage point to an increase of 
2.3 percent in 2024, now reflecting an increase of 5.1 percent in hourly compensation and an increase of 
2.7 percent in productivity. Real hourly compensation, which accounts for changes in consumer prices, 
increased 2.1 percent in 2024.

In the manufacturing sector, productivity increased 0.6 percent in 2024, reflecting decreases of 0.4 
percent and 1.0 percent in output and hours worked, respectively.

Manufacturing unit labor costs increased 3.3 percent in 2024, as hourly compensation increased 4.0 
percent and productivity increased 0.6 percent. This is a 0.2-percentage point upward revision to 
manufacturing unit labor costs. Manufacturing real hourly compensation increased 1.0 percent.

Quarterly and annual data for all sectors from 2022 forward appear in tables 1-6. Full historical 
measures can be found on the Productivity and Costs home page: www.bls.gov/productivity/tables/.
______________
The preliminary Productivity and Costs news release for first-quarter 2025 is scheduled to be 
released on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (ET). 



=========================================================================================================================
Table A1. Labor productivity growth and related measures – revised fourth-quarter 2024
(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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nonfarm business        Previous quarter           1.5          2.4       0.8           3.8           0.7        2.2
                        A year ago                 2.0          2.6       0.6           4.0           1.2        2.0
                        
Business                Previous quarter           2.0          2.4       0.3           4.4           1.3        2.3
                        A year ago                 2.1          2.6       0.5           4.0           1.2        1.9
                        
Manufacturing           Previous quarter           0.3         -1.3      -1.6           4.0           1.0        3.7
                        A Year ago                 0.4         -0.4      -0.7           2.3          -0.4        2.0

 Durable                Previous quarter          -1.1         -3.2      -2.1           4.2           1.1        5.3
 manufacturing          A year ago                 0.4         -1.5      -1.8           2.7          -0.1        2.3

 Nondurable             Previous quarter           1.4          0.6      -0.8           3.8           0.7        2.4
 manufacturing          A year ago                -0.4          0.8       1.2           2.1          -0.7        2.4
=========================================================================================================================


=========================================================================================================================
Table A2. Labor productivity growth and related measures – revised and previously published third-quarter 2024 
(percent change from previous quarter at annual rate)


                                                Labor                   Hours    Hourly         Real hourly    Unit labor
Sector                                          productivity   Output   worked   compensation   compensation   costs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------       
Nonfinancial             Revised                    2.5         2.9       0.4           1.3          -0.1       -1.2
corporate          Previously published             3.0         3.9       0.9           2.6           1.3       -0.4
=========================================================================================================================


=========================================================================================================================
Table B1. Labor productivity growth and related measures – revised and previously published fourth-quarter 2024
(percent change from previous quarter at annual rate) 


                                                Labor                   Hours    Hourly         Real hourly    Unit labor
Sector                                          productivity   Output   worked   compensation   compensation   costs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nonfarm business        Revised                     1.5         2.4       0.8           3.8           0.7        2.2
                   Previously published             1.2         2.3       1.0           4.2           1.1        3.0
                        
Business                Revised                     2.0         2.4       0.3           4.4           1.3        2.3
                   Previously published             1.7         2.2       0.5           4.8           1.6        3.0
                        
Manufacturing           Revised                     0.3        -1.3      -1.6           4.0           1.0        3.7
                   Previously published             0.8        -1.0      -1.8           4.1           1.0        3.3

 Durable                Revised                    -1.1        -3.2      -2.1           4.2           1.1        5.3
 manufacturing     Previously published            -1.0        -3.5      -2.5           4.6           1.4        5.7
                        
 Nondurable             Revised                     1.4         0.6      -0.8           3.8           0.7        2.4
 manufacturing     Previously published             2.2         1.6      -0.5           3.4           0.3        1.2
=========================================================================================================================


=========================================================================================================================
Table B2. Labor productivity growth and related measures – revised and previously published third-quarter 2024
(percent change from previous quarter at annual rate) 


                                                Labor                   Hours    Hourly         Real hourly    Unit labor
Sector                                          productivity   Output   worked   compensation   compensation   costs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nonfarm Business        Revised                     2.9         3.6      0.7            1.3         -0.1        -1.5
                   Previously published             2.3         3.6      1.3            2.9          1.6         0.5
                        
Business                Revised                     2.3         3.5      1.2            0.9         -0.5        -1.4
                   Previously published             1.9         3.5      1.6            2.5          1.3         0.6
                        
Manufacturing           Revised                     0.7        -0.7     -1.4            4.2          2.7         3.5
                   Previously published             0.5        -0.8     -1.2            2.3          1.1         1.8

 Durable                Revised                     0.6        -3.1     -3.6            6.1          4.7         5.5
 manufacturing     Previously published             0.5        -2.9     -3.4            2.8          1.5         2.2
                        
 Nondurable             Revised                    -0.6         1.8      2.4            1.1         -0.3         1.7
 manufacturing     Previously published            -1.1         1.6      2.7            1.9          0.7         3.1
=========================================================================================================================


=========================================================================================================================
Table C1. Labor productivity growth and related measures – annual average changes: 2020-2024


                                                Labor                   Hours    Hourly         Real hourly    Unit labor
Sector                  Year                    productivity   Output   worked   compensation   compensation   costs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nonfarm business        2024                        2.7         2.9      0.2            5.1          2.1         2.3
                        2023                        1.8         2.9      1.0            4.1          0.0         2.2
                        2022                       -1.5         2.5      4.1            3.5         -4.2         5.1
                        2021                        2.0         7.6      5.5            5.0          0.2         3.0
                        2020                        5.3        -2.7     -7.7            8.2          6.8         2.7
                        
Manufacturing           2024                        0.6        -0.4     -1.0            4.0          1.0         3.3
                        2023                       -0.3        -0.4      0.0            4.7          0.6         5.1
                        2022                       -1.3         2.7      4.0            3.2         -4.5         4.6
                        2021                        1.7         5.0      3.2            2.6         -2.1         0.9
                        2020                        0.1        -7.4     -7.5            6.8          5.4         6.7
=========================================================================================================================
Last Modified Date: March 06, 2025