2018 First Quarter (Preliminary) Productivity and Costs — 2018-05-03

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 0.7 percent during the first quarter of 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 2.8 percent and hours worked increased 2.1 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018, productivity increased 1.3 percent, reflecting a 3.6-percent increase in output and a 2.2-percent increase in hours worked. (See tables A1 and 2.) Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked by all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2018, reflecting a 3.4-percent increase in hourly compensation and a 0.7-percent increase in productivity. BLS calculates unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity.