An official website of the United States government
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.7 percent from second quarter 2023 to second quarter 2024 as output rose 3.4 percent and hours worked rose 0.7 percent.
Quarter | Labor productivity | Output | Hours worked | Unit labor costs | Hourly compensation | Real hourly compensation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Q1 2014 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.7 |
Q2 2014 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 1.9 | -0.2 |
Q3 2014 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.9 |
Q4 2014 | 0.3 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 1.8 |
Q1 2015 | 1.7 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
Q2 2015 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
Q3 2015 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
Q4 2015 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
Q1 2016 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.3 |
Q2 2016 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.8 | -0.3 |
Q3 2016 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.6 | -0.5 |
Q4 2016 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 0.1 |
Q1 2017 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 0.3 |
Q2 2017 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 1.3 |
Q3 2017 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
Q4 2017 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 2.1 |
Q1 2018 | 2.0 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 1.6 |
Q2 2018 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 1.1 |
Q3 2018 | 1.4 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 0.9 |
Q4 2018 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.3 |
Q1 2019 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 2.6 |
Q2 2019 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 1.9 |
Q3 2019 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 1.1 |
Q4 2019 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 4.3 | 2.2 |
Q1 2020 | 2.4 | 1.0 | -1.3 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 2.3 |
Q2 2020 | 6.5 | -9.4 | -14.9 | 3.6 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
Q3 2020 | 6.8 | -1.8 | -8.0 | 1.5 | 8.4 | 7.0 |
Q4 2020 | 5.0 | -1.1 | -5.8 | 4.1 | 9.3 | 7.8 |
Q1 2021 | 5.9 | 2.4 | -3.3 | 0.7 | 6.7 | 4.5 |
Q2 2021 | 1.2 | 15.1 | 13.8 | 1.4 | 2.6 | -2.3 |
Q3 2021 | -0.9 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 5.6 | 0.2 |
Q4 2021 | 0.6 | 6.5 | 5.9 | 3.9 | 4.6 | -2.2 |
Q1 2022 | -1.5 | 4.1 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 5.0 | -3.0 |
Q2 2022 | -2.4 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 3.6 | -4.7 |
Q3 2022 | -1.8 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 5.8 | 4.0 | -4.0 |
Q4 2022 | -1.9 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 4.4 | 2.5 | -4.4 |
Q1 2023 | -0.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 3.6 | -2.0 |
Q2 2023 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 0.8 |
Q3 2023 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 4.3 | 0.7 |
Q4 2023 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 4.4 | 1.2 |
Q1 2024 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 0.6 |
Q2 2024 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 3.2 | 0.0 |
Over the year ended second quarter 2024, a 3.2-percent increase in hourly compensation and the 2.7-percent increase in labor productivity resulted in a 0.5-percent increase in unit labor costs. The increase in unit labor costs was the lowest since the third quarter of 2019, when costs also increased 0.5 percent over the year.
Real hourly compensation, which takes into account consumer prices, was unchanged from second quarter 2023 to second quarter 2024.
These data are from the Productivity program and are subject to revision. See "Productivity and Costs — Second Quarter 2024, Preliminary" to learn more. Also see charts on productivity and costs. Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked for all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Productivity increased 2.7 percent from second quarter 2023 to second quarter 2024 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/productivity-increased-2-7-percent-from-second-quarter-2023-to-second-quarter-2024.htm (visited November 02, 2024).