Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Productivity up 2.3 percent in 2024

February 12, 2025

Labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector increased 2.3 percent in 2024, following an increase of 1.6 percent in 2023 and a decrease of 1.5 percent in 2022. The rise in labor productivity in 2024 resulted from a 2.9-percent increase in output combined with a 0.6-percent increase in hours worked.

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity and related measures, annual average percent change
YearLabor productivityOutputHours workedUnit labor costsHourly compensationReal hourly compensation

2014

0.93.42.41.72.60.9

2015

1.33.72.41.83.12.9

2016

0.82.01.20.61.30.1

2017

1.33.01.62.13.41.3

2018

1.43.42.02.03.40.9

2019

2.23.10.81.63.82.0

2020

5.4-2.7-7.72.78.26.8

2021

2.07.65.43.05.10.2

2022

-1.52.54.15.13.5-4.2

2023

1.62.91.22.23.9-0.2

2024

2.32.90.62.65.02.0

Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 2.6 percent in 2024, reflecting a 5.0-percent increase in hourly compensation and the 2.3-percent increase in productivity. The 2.6-percent increase in unit labor costs came after costs rose 2.2 percent in 2023 and 5.1 percent in 2022.

Real hourly compensation, which takes into account changes in consumer prices, increased 2.0 percent in 2024.

These data are from the Productivity program and are subject to revision. See "Productivity and Costs — Fourth Quarter and Annual Averages 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.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Productivity up 2.3 percent in 2024 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/productivity-up-2-3-percent-in-2024.htm (visited March 20, 2025).

OF INTEREST
spotlight
Recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics


triangle