2022 Fourth Quarter (Revised) Productivity and Costs — 2023-03-02

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 3.1 percent and hours worked increased 1.4 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) This 1.7-percent increase in labor productivity for the fourth quarter of 2022 is 1.3 percentage points below the preliminary estimate of a 3.0-percent increase. From the same quarter a year ago, nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 1.8 percent, reflecting a 0.7-percent increase in output and a 2.6-percent increase in hours worked. (See table A1.) Annual average productivity decreased 1.7 percent from 2021 to 2022. This is the largest annual decline in the measure since 1974, when productivity also decreased 1.7 percent.