Productivity And Costs By Industry — 2006-05-02

Labor productivity--defined as output per hour--rose in 2004 in most of the manufacturing industries studied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. In 2004, the most recent year for which underlying data are available, labor productivity increased in 67 percent of the manufacturing industries. Output, the production of manufactured goods, rose in 63 percent of these industries while hours declined in 60 percent of these industries. Unit labor costs declined in 57 percent of manufacturing industries, and in almost three quarters of the industries that registered productivity growth. The share of industries with productivity increases over a longer period was even greater. From 1987 to 2004, labor productivity increased in all but one manufacturing industry. Output rose in 80 percent of the industries, and hours declined in 81 percent of them. Unit labor costs declined in 17 percent of manufacturing industries between 1987 and 2004.