Nonfarm business labor productivity up 1.5 percent since third quarter 2018

From the third quarter of 2018 to the third quarter of 2019, nonfarm business labor productivity increased 1.5 percent, reflecting a 2.3-percent increase in output and a 0.9-percent increase in hours worked.

Hourly compensation increased 3.7 percent, and real hourly compensation increased 1.9 percent, over this period, while unit labor costs increased 2.2 percent over the last four quarters.

These data are from the Productivity program. To learn more, see Productivity and Costs — Third Quarter 2019, Revised. Also see Charts related to the latest "Productivity and Costs" news release. 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. BLS calculates unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity.