2005 Multifactor Productivity Trends in Manufacturing — 2007-06-07

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported multifactor productivity data�output per unit of combined inputs�for the manufacturing sector and for durable goods, nondurable goods, and three-digit (NAICS) manufacturing industries for the year 2005. 3.4 percent in the manufacturing sector and 3.3 percent in the durable goods manufacturing sector and 3.2 percent in the nondurable goods manufacturing sector. At 3.4 percent, multifactor productivity growth in the manufacturing sector slowed somewhat compared to 2004 (3.8 percent). This was due to a deceleration in durable goods manufacturing productivity growth from 4.5 percent to 3.3 percent. A small acceleration in nondurable goods manufacturing productivity growth from 2.5 percent to 3.2 percent partially offset the slower growth of multifactor productivity in durable goods manufacturing. The 2004-05 annual changes are summarized in table A, and further detail and historical measures are shown in tables 1 through 3.