March 30, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Productivity in the architectural services industry

Labor productivity (as measured by output per hour) rose at an average annual rate of 1.4 percent in the architectural services industry between 1987 and 2003.

[Chart data—TXT]

Productivity growth in the architectural services industry was strongest during the first half of the 1990s. Between 1990 and 1995, output per hour grew at an annual rate of 2.7 percent. In this period, output rose 2.1 percent per year on average and hours declined 0.6 percent per year on average.

In contrast, from 1995 to 2000, productivity did not advance in this industry. Both output and hours increased at a brisk 6.9 percent per year during this time.

These data are from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Additional information is available in "New Service Industry Productivity Measures," (PDF) Report 993.