2013 (Preliminary) Multifactor Productivity Trends — 2014-07-09

Private nonfarm business sector multifactor productivity increased at a 0.3 percent annual rate in 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1, table A.) The gain in multifactor productivity was the smallest annual percent change since a 0.3-percent decline in 2009. The multifactor productivity increase in 2013 reflected a 2.3-percent increase in output and a 1.9-percent increase in the combined inputs of capital and labor. Capital services grew by 1.9 percent and labor input � which is the combined effect of hours worked and labor composition � also grew by 1.9 percent. Capital services per hour of all persons slightly increased at a rate of 0.3 percent in 2013 after falling 0.8 percent in 2012 and 1.1 percent in 2011. (See table 1.) Multifactor productivity measures the change in output per unit of combined capital and labor input.