Productivity
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Technical Notes
Technical notes contain detail on how we create our data and short explanations of our concepts. For additional published articles on concepts and measurement see Articles and Research. Additionally, the BLS Handbook of Methods presents detailed explanations of how the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) obtains and prepares the economic data it publishes.
Recent Method Research and Implementation
Labor Productivity
Total Factor Productivity
The BLS Productivity program replaced the term multifactor productivity (MFP) with total factor productivity (TFP) beginning with the 2020 data release. This was a change in terminology only and does not affect the data or methodology. The use of the term total factor productivity will improve the visibility and accessibility of our data and was accompanied by changes to the BLS website and future productivity news releases.
- Method Change for Estimating Sectoral Output, 2017
- Overview of Capital Inputs for the BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2017 (PDF
of article "Overview of Capital Inputs for the BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2017."
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- Changes in the Composition of Labor for BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2016 (PDF
of article "Changes in the Composition of Labor for BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2016."
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- Overview of Output Measures Used by BLS to Construct Productivity Statistics for Major Sectors of the U.S. Economy, 2014 (PDF
of article "Overview of Output Measures Used by BLS to Construct Productivity Statistics for Major Sectors of the U.S. Economy, 2014."
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- Technical Note on Public R&D and Productivity Growth, 2012 (PDF
of article "Technical Note on Public R&D and Productivity Growth, 2012."
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- Technical Information About the BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures for Major Sectors and 18 NAICS 3-digit Manufacturing Industries, 2007 (PDF
of article "Technical Information About the BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures for Major Sectors and 18 NAICS 3-digit Manufacturing Industries, 2007."
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- Changes in the Composition of Labor for BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2002 (PDF
of article "Changes in the Composition of Labor for BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2002."
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- Productivity measurement with changing-weight indexes of outputs and inputs, 1996 (PDF
of article "Productivity measurement with changing-weight indexes of outputs and inputs, 1996."
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- The impact of research and development on productivity growth, 1989 (PDF
of article "The impact of research and development on productivity growth, 1989."
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- Data sources and methods for measuring multifactor productivity in the utility services industries (SIC 49) (PDF
of article "Data sources and methods for measuring multifactor productivity in the utility services industries (SIC 49)."
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Release Technical Notes
Additional release information and measure explanation.