2021 Second Quarter (Preliminary) Productivity and Costs — 2021-08-10

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 7.9 percent and hours worked increased 5.5 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the second quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2021, nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 1.9 percent. (See table A1.) Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased at an annual rate of 1.0 percent in the second quarter of 2021, the combined effect of a 3.3-percent increase in hourly compensation and a 2.3-percent increase in productivity. Unit labor costs increased 0.1 percent over the last four quarters, as hourly compensation increased 2.0 percent and productivity increased 1.9 percent. (See table A1.) BLS calculates unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity.