2020 Fourth Quarter (Preliminary) Productivity and Costs — 2021-02-04

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 5.3 percent and hours worked increased 10.7 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates, and show what the percent change would be if the quarterly rate continued for four quarters.) The fourth-quarter 2020 decline in productivity is the largest quarterly decline in the measure since a decline of 5.1 percent in the second quarter of 1981. From the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020, nonfarm business productivity increased 2.5 percent, reflecting a 2.7-percent decline in output and a 5.0-percent decline in hours worked.