2007 (Preliminary) Multifactor Productivity Trends — 2008-05-06

Multifactor productivity, defined as output per combined units of labor and capital inputs, grew at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the private business sector and 0.6 percent in the private nonfarm business sector for 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. 2006-07 Private business sector 0.7 Private nonfarm business sector 0.6 The estimates of multifactor productivity in the private business and in the private nonfarm business sectors for 2007 both show a slight increase from 2006. The 2006-07 annual changes are summarized in tables A and B. Table B also presents data showing historical trends. Multifactor productivity 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.