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Labor productivity up 1.5 percent from third quarter 2016 to third quarter 2017
November 06, 2017
Labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector rose 1.5 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017. Output rose 2.9 percent over that period, and hours worked increased 1.4 percent.
Percent change from same quarter a year earlier in nonfarm business sector labor productivity and related measures
Quarter
Labor productivity
Output
Hours worked
Hourly compensation
Real hourly compensation
Unit labor costs
Q1 2007
0.3%
1.5%
1.2%
4.4%
1.9%
4.1%
Q2 2007
1.0
2.4
1.4
4.3
1.6
3.2
Q3 2007
2.7
3.1
0.4
4.6
2.1
1.8
Q4 2007
2.4
2.2
-0.2
3.9
-0.1
1.5
Q1 2008
1.3
0.7
-0.5
2.4
-1.6
1.1
Q2 2008
1.6
0.2
-1.4
2.6
-1.7
0.9
Q3 2008
0.7
-1.4
-2.1
3.1
-2.1
2.4
Q4 2008
-0.4
-4.7
-4.3
3.1
1.4
3.4
Q1 2009
1.4
-5.2
-6.5
-0.5
-0.3
-1.9
Q2 2009
2.3
-6.0
-8.1
1.8
2.8
-0.5
Q3 2009
3.5
-5.0
-8.2
1.7
3.3
-1.8
Q4 2009
5.4
-0.7
-5.8
1.2
-0.3
-4.0
Q1 2010
5.2
1.8
-3.2
3.0
0.7
-2.0
Q2 2010
3.6
3.2
-0.3
1.7
0.0
-1.8
Q3 2010
2.6
4.1
1.4
1.5
0.3
-1.1
Q4 2010
1.8
3.7
1.9
1.3
0.1
-0.4
Q1 2011
0.4
2.5
2.1
3.9
1.7
3.4
Q2 2011
0.4
2.4
2.0
2.1
-1.2
1.7
Q3 2011
-0.3
1.7
2.0
2.3
-1.3
2.6
Q4 2011
0.0
2.2
2.2
0.5
-2.7
0.5
Q1 2012
1.0
3.8
2.8
1.0
-1.7
0.0
Q2 2012
1.2
3.4
2.1
2.2
0.3
0.9
Q3 2012
1.2
3.4
2.1
1.6
-0.1
0.4
Q4 2012
0.1
2.0
1.9
5.7
3.8
5.6
Q1 2013
0.2
1.7
1.5
1.0
-0.8
0.8
Q2 2013
-0.6
1.2
1.7
1.8
0.4
2.4
Q3 2013
0.0
1.9
1.8
2.0
0.5
2.0
Q4 2013
1.6
3.2
1.6
-0.1
-1.3
-1.6
Q1 2014
0.5
2.1
1.7
4.0
2.5
3.5
Q2 2014
1.2
3.4
2.2
1.9
-0.1
0.7
Q3 2014
1.9
4.2
2.2
2.4
0.7
0.5
Q4 2014
0.3
3.4
3.0
3.1
1.9
2.8
Q1 2015
1.9
4.7
2.8
2.3
2.3
0.4
Q2 2015
1.6
4.1
2.5
3.8
3.8
2.2
Q3 2015
0.8
2.7
1.9
3.3
3.1
2.4
Q4 2015
0.7
2.2
1.5
3.1
2.7
2.4
Q1 2016
-0.3
1.3
1.6
1.3
0.2
1.6
Q2 2016
-0.4
1.1
1.5
1.6
0.5
2.0
Q3 2016
-0.1
1.6
1.7
1.9
0.8
2.1
Q4 2016
0.8
2.1
1.2
-0.3
-2.1
-1.2
Q1 2017
1.2
2.5
1.3
1.9
-0.7
0.7
Q2 2017
1.3
2.8
1.4
1.1
-0.8
-0.2
Q3 2017
1.5
2.9
1.4
1.4
-0.6
-0.1
Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector decreased 0.1 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017. That reflects a 1.4-percent increase in hourly compensation and the 1.5-percent increase in productivity.
Real hourly compensation—that is, adjusted for inflation—fell 0.6 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017. The last time real hourly compensation increased over a year was from the third quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2016.
These data are from the Labor Productivity and Costs program. For more information, see “Labor Productivity and Costs — Third Quarter 2017, Preliminary” (HTML) (PDF). Labor productivity is calculated by dividing inflation-adjusted output by hours worked for all employees, business owners, and unpaid family workers. Unit labor costs are the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity. Increases in hourly compensation increase unit labor costs, and increases in output per hour reduce unit labor costs.
United States Department of Labor
