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Trends in manufacturing output and hours worked, 2007–2026

June 11, 2026

One way labor productivity growth occurs is when output grows at a faster rate than hours worked. In the manufacturing sector, labor productivity had been slowly declining since 2011 but saw a rebound in growth starting in 2025. Specifically, there has been a difference between output growth and growth in hours worked, the latter of which has been declining.

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Chart Data

Labor productivity, output, and hours in the manufacturing sector
Date	Labor productivity	Output	Hours worked
2007 Q1	100.000	100.000	100.000
2007 Q2	101.078	101.471	100.389
2007 Q3	101.789	101.750	99.960
2007 Q4	102.952	102.103	99.175
2008 Q1	103.063	101.298	98.286
2008 Q2	101.741	99.274	97.575
2008 Q3	100.680	95.909	95.260
2008 Q4	99.088	90.400	91.232
2009 Q1	98.485	84.705	86.008
2009 Q2	100.736	82.780	82.175
2009 Q3	104.530	84.832	81.156
2009 Q4	106.127	86.563	81.567
2010 Q1	107.355	88.265	82.218
2010 Q2	108.710	90.599	83.340
2010 Q3	109.549	91.627	83.641
2010 Q4	110.126	92.071	83.605
2011 Q1	110.711	92.917	83.927
2011 Q2	109.277	92.785	84.907
2011 Q3	110.546	93.494	84.575
2011 Q4	109.356	93.881	85.849
2012 Q1	109.375	94.478	86.380
2012 Q2	108.706	94.327	86.772
2012 Q3	108.170	94.046	86.942
2012 Q4	108.473	94.535	87.152
2013 Q1	109.737	95.758	87.261
2013 Q2	110.178	96.209	87.322
2013 Q3	110.079	96.438	87.608
2013 Q4	110.467	97.009	87.817
2014 Q1	110.198	96.738	87.785
2014 Q2	110.243	97.831	88.741
2014 Q3	110.007	98.100	89.176
2014 Q4	108.734	98.058	90.182
2015 Q1	107.974	96.945	89.785
2015 Q2	108.197	96.681	89.357
2015 Q3	107.977	96.916	89.756
2015 Q4	107.406	96.435	89.785
2016 Q1	108.073	96.693	89.470
2016 Q2	107.667	96.661	89.778
2016 Q3	107.654	96.646	89.774
2016 Q4	107.949	96.525	89.417
2017 Q1	107.342	96.187	89.608
2017 Q2	107.882	96.873	89.795
2017 Q3	106.348	96.369	90.616
2017 Q4	106.750	97.459	91.296
2018 Q1	106.998	97.810	91.413
2018 Q2	107.808	98.669	91.523
2018 Q3	107.489	99.190	92.280
2018 Q4	106.982	98.887	92.432
2019 Q1	106.075	97.643	92.050
2019 Q2	104.963	96.675	92.103
2019 Q3	104.256	96.230	92.302
2019 Q4	104.056	95.471	91.749
2020 Q1	104.040	93.747	90.107
2020 Q2	102.270	81.181	79.379
2020 Q3	106.325	90.383	85.006
2020 Q4	106.102	92.158	86.857
2021 Q1	105.868	92.077	86.975
2021 Q2	107.303	93.592	87.222
2021 Q3	106.798	94.236	88.238
2021 Q4	106.071	95.307	89.852
2022 Q1	105.011	95.570	91.009
2022 Q2	104.962	95.945	91.409
2022 Q3	103.851	95.791	92.238
2022 Q4	103.120	95.090	92.213
2023 Q1	103.103	95.195	92.330
2023 Q2	104.246	95.365	91.480
2023 Q3	103.973	95.230	91.590
2023 Q4	104.605	95.034	90.850
2024 Q1	104.257	94.549	90.688
2024 Q2	104.499	94.812	90.730
2024 Q3	104.361	94.251	90.312
2024 Q4	104.351	93.744	89.835
2025 Q1	105.514	94.654	89.707
2025 Q2	106.334	95.322	89.643
2025 Q3	107.247	95.988	89.501
2025 Q4	106.299	95.076	89.442
2026 Q1	107.149	95.840	89.445

Since the first quarter of 2025, productivity experienced consistent growth in all but one quarter. This growth was due to growth in output and small declines in hours worked.

Labor productivity in manufacturing measures economic efficiency by comparing output growth to growth in hours worked. Sources of labor productivity can include the impact of labor composition, use of capital, technological change, efficiency improvements, returns to scale, reallocation of resources, and other factors on economic growth. Annual measures of total factor productivity help provide additional detail on the drivers of productivity growth.

You can find more details and data related to labor productivity and total factor productivity from the Productivity program.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Trends in manufacturing output and hours worked, 2007–2026 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/trends-in-manufacturing-output-and-hours-worked-2007-2026.htm (visited June 11, 2026).

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