2022 Third Quarter (Preliminary) Productivity and Costs — 2022-11-03

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 2.8 percent and hours worked increased 2.4 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the same quarter a year ago, nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 1.4 percent, reflecting a 1.9-percent increase in output and a 3.4-percent increase in hours worked. The 1.4-percent four-quarter decline is the first instance of three consecutive declines in this measure since 1982. (See table A1.) 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 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2022, reflecting a 3.8-percent increase in hourly compensation and a 0.3-percent increase in productivity.