2005 (Preliminary) Multifactor Productivity Trends — 2006-08-29

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today the preliminary multifactor productivity data, output per combined units of labor and capital inputs, for 2005 for the private business sector. The estimated annual rate of multifactor productivity change from 2004 to 2005 was an increase of 1.8 percent. The estimate of multifactor productivity in the private business sector for 2005 shows a slower rate of growth than the past two years. The 2004-5 annual changes are summarized in tables A and B. Multifactor productivity growth is designed to measure the joint influences of economic growth on technological change, efficiency improvements, returns to scale, reallocation of resources, and other factors, allowing for the effects of capital and labor. Multifactor productivity, therefore, differs from labor productivity (output per hour worked) measures that are published quarterly by BLS since it includes information on capital services and other data that are not available on a quarterly basis.