Productivity and Costs by Industry: Manufacturing Industries News Release — 2013-03-21

Labor productivity -- defined as output per hour -- rose in 63 percent of detailed manufacturing industries in 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was down from 78 percent in 2010. Unit labor costs, which reflect the total labor costs required to produce a unit of output, declined in 49 percent of the industries in 2011 compared to 71 percent in 2010. Two-thirds of the industries with productivity increases posted declines in unit labor costs. Fewer industries recorded gains in output in 2011 than in the previous year, while more industries posted gains in hours. (See table 1.) Output rose in 54 of the 86 NAICS 4-digit manufacturing industries in 2011, down from 60 industries in 2010. Hours rose in 51 of the industries in 2011 compared to 41 in 2010. Hours rose in more industries in 2011 than in any year since 1997.