2008 (Preliminary) Multifactor Productivity Trends — 2009-05-06

Multifactor productivity, defined as output per combined units of labor and capital inputs, grew at an annual rate of 1.2 percent in the private business sector and 1.1 percent in the private nonfarm business sector for 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. 2007-08 Private business sector 1.2 Private nonfarm business sector 1.1 The estimates of multifactor productivity in the private business and in the private nonfarm business sectors for 2008 both show the largest annual rates of growth since 2005. The 2007-08 annual changes are summarized in tables A and B. Table B also presents data showing historical trends. Multifactor productivity is designed to measure the joint influences of technological change, efficiency improvements, returns to scale, reallocation of resources, and other factors on economic growth while allowing for the effects of capital and labor.