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Labor productivity and unit labor costs among manufacturing industries, 2011

March 28, 2013

Labor productivity—defined as output per hour—increased in 13 of 21 manufacturing industries in 2011. Output increased in 16 of these industries, and hours declined in 10. Unit labor costs fell in 10 of 21 manufacturing industries in 2011.

 

Percent change in output per hour and unit labor costs, NAICS 3-digit manufacturing industries, 2010-2011
Percent change in output per hour and unit labor costs, NAICS 3-digit manufacturing industries, 2010–2011
3-digit manufacturing industryOutput per hour(p)Unit labor costs(p)2011 employment level

Textile product mills

6.6-1.2125,100

Machinery

4.8-4.11,068,900

Electrical equipment and appliances

4.8-2.6368,300

Printing and related support activities

4.7-0.8496,400

Computer and electronic products

4.40.01,111,300

Paper and paper products

2.70.3388,300

Nonmetallic mineral products

2.6-0.5383,500

Petroleum and coal products

1.93.0112,600

Fabricated metal products

1.9-1.41,373,200

Transportation equipment

1.2-0.11,398,000

Apparel

1.0-0.5168,800

Wood products

0.8-0.3359,800

Chemicals

0.32.9790,500

Food

-0.11.31,493,400

Furniture and related products

-0.2-3.7375,800

Leather and allied products

-0.32.030,100

Plastics and rubber products

-0.91.0637,200

Miscellaneous manufacturing

-1.31.7625,600

Textile mills

-1.92.7129,100

Primary metals

-2.01.4391,100

Beverage and tobacco products

-5.71.7191,900

Footnotes:
(p) preliminary.
 

Among manufacturing industries in 2011, productivity rose fastest in textile product mills (6.6 percent), where output increased despite a drop in hours. Only 3 of the 21 industries registered greater productivity growth, or smaller productivity declines, than in the previous year.

In 2011, unit labor costs declined more frequently in manufacturing industries where productivity rose, as productivity gains offset increases in hourly compensation. Unit labor costs fell in 9 of the 13 industries where productivity rose.

These data are from the Labor Productivity and Costs program. The productivity measures reflect data classified according to the 2007 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The industry comparisons shown here are at the three-digit level of the six-digit NAICS coding structure. All of the measures for 2011 are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Productivity and Costs by Industry: Manufacturing Industries, 2011" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑13‑0478.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Labor productivity and unit labor costs among manufacturing industries, 2011 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130328.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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