Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL 13-0192
8:30 a.m. (EST) Thursday, February 7, 2013
Technical information: (202) 691-5606 dprweb@bls.gov www.bls.gov/lpc
Media contact (202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov
PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
Fourth Quarter and Annual Averages 2012, Preliminary
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased at a 2.0 percent annual
rate during the fourth quarter of 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. The decrease in productivity reflects increases of 0.1 percent
in output and 2.2 percent in hours worked. (All quarterly percent changes in
this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the fourth quarter of
2011 to the fourth quarter of 2012, productivity increased 0.6 percent as
output and hours worked rose 2.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.
(See table A.) Annual average productivity increased 1.0 percent from 2011 to
2012. (See table C.)
Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of
real output by an index of hours worked of all persons, including employees,
proprietors, and unpaid family workers.
Unit labor costs in nonfarm businesses increased 4.5 percent in the fourth
quarter of 2012, the combined effect of the 2.0 percent decrease in
productivity and a 2.4 percent increase in hourly compensation. Unit labor
costs rose 1.9 percent over the last four quarters. (See table A.)
BLS defines unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor
productivity; increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor
costs and increases in output per hour tend to reduce them.
Manufacturing sector productivity increased 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter
of 2012, as output increased 0.7 percent and hours increased 0.1 percent.
Productivity increased 1.6 percent in the durable goods sector and decreased
0.5 percent in the nondurable goods sector. Over the last four quarters,
manufacturing productivity increased 1.3 percent, as output increased 2.8
percent and hours worked rose 1.5 percent. Unit labor costs in manufacturing
increased 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 and increased 3.4 percent
from the same quarter a year ago. (See tables A and 3.)
The concepts, sources, and methods used for the manufacturing and nonfinancial
corporate output series differ from those used in the business and nonfarm
business output series; these output measures are not directly comparable. See
Technical Notes for a more detailed explanation.
Table C presents annual averages for the most recent five years for the
nonfarm business sector and the total manufacturing sector. Nonfarm
business sector productivity grew 1.0 percent in 2012, as output and hours
increased 2.9 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. In the manufacturing
sector, productivity grew 2.0 percent, reflecting a 4.4 percent increase in
output combined with a 2.4 percent increase in hours. Unit labor costs
increased 0.7 percent in the nonfarm business sector and 0.4 percent in the
manufacturing sector in 2012.
Revised measures
Revised and previous measures for the third quarter of 2012 are shown in
tables B and D and cover the following major sectors: nonfarm business,
business, manufacturing, and nonfinancial corporations.
In the third quarter of 2012, nonfarm business productivity was revised to a
3.2 percent increase, as an upward revision to output was greater than an
upward revision to hours. (See table B.) Unit labor costs for the nonfarm
business sector fell 2.3 percent in the third quarter, more than previously
reported.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity declined 0.9 percent in the third
quarter of 2012--a slightly larger decline than previously reported--after a
small upward revision to hours growth in the quarter.
In the nonfinancial corporate sector, productivity declined 4.7 percent in
third-quarter 2012, a greater decline than previously reported. As a result of
the downward revision to productivity, unit labor costs rose more than the
preliminary estimate. (See table D.)
Quarterly and annual data for all sectors from 2010 to 2012 appear in tables
1-6. Full historical measures can be found on the productivity and costs home
page at http://www.bls.gov/lpc/#data.
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Data in this release do not reflect the annual benchmark revision of the BLS
Current Employment Statistics program data released February 1, 2013. This
benchmark revision will be incorporated in our next release on March 7, 2013.
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The revised Productivity and Costs press release for the fourth quarter 2012
is scheduled to be released on Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. (EST).
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Table A. Preliminary fourth-quarter 2012 measures: percent change from previous quarter at annual rate
(Q to Q) and from same quarter a year ago (Y to Y)
Sector Nonfarm Durable Nondurable
Business Business Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing
Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Productivity -2.0 0.6 -1.9 0.5 0.5 1.3 1.6 3.6 -0.5 -1.3
Output 0.1 2.4 0.0 2.2 0.7 2.8 1.8 5.2 -0.6 0.1
Hours 2.2 1.8 1.9 1.7 0.1 1.5 0.3 1.5 -0.2 1.4
Hourly
compensation 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.6 1.0 4.7 0.9 5.8 1.2 2.6
Real hourly
compensation 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.7 -1.1 2.7 -1.2 3.8 -0.8 0.7
Unit labor
costs 4.5 1.9 4.6 2.1 0.4 3.4 -0.7 2.1 1.7 4.0
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Table B. Revised and previous measures: third quarter 2012
Sector Nonfarm Durable Nondurable
Business Business Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing
Revised Previous Revised Previous Revised Previous Revised Previous Revised Previous
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent change, annual rate
Productivity 3.2 2.9 2.9 2.5 -0.9 -0.7 -1.5 -1.6 -0.5 0.2
Output 4.7 4.2 4.2 3.6 -0.7 -0.7 -1.9 -1.9 0.8 0.7
Hours 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.1 0.2 0.0 -0.4 -0.3 1.3 0.4
Hourly
compensation 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.0 2.5 3.3
Real hourly
compensation -1.5 -1.4 -1.3 -1.3 0.0 0.1 -0.1 -0.3 0.1 0.9
Unit labor
costs -2.3 -1.9 -1.9 -1.5 3.2 3.2 3.8 3.7 3.0 3.0
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Table C. Annual average changes in productivity and related measures: 2008-2012
Sector Nonfarm Business Manufacturing
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 | 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
--------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------
|
Productivity 0.6 2.9 3.1 0.7 1.0 | -0.6 0.1 6.4 2.5 2.0
Output -1.5 -4.5 3.1 2.6 2.9 | -4.5 -12.9 6.4 4.8 4.4
Hours -2.1 -7.2 0.0 1.9 1.9 | -4.0 -13.0 0.0 2.2 2.4
Hourly |
compensation 3.4 1.4 2.0 2.7 1.7 | 4.3 4.1 1.1 2.6 2.4
Real hourly |
compensation -0.4 1.8 0.4 -0.5 -0.4 | 0.4 4.5 -0.5 -0.5 0.3
Unit labor |
costs 2.8 -1.5 -1.0 2.0 0.7 | 4.9 4.0 -5.0 0.1 0.4
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Table D. Nonfinancial corporations: revised and previous third-quarter 2012 productivity and cost
measures
Real
Hourly hourly Unit Implicit
Produc- compen- compen- labor Unit price
tivity Output Hours sation sation costs profits deflator
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Percent change, annual rate, third quarter 2012
Revised -4.7 -3.8 0.9 1.5 -0.7 6.5 -1.3 5.2
Previous -4.0 -3.4 0.6 1.7 -0.6 5.9 3.1 5.4
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