2017 Third Quarter (Revised) Productivity and Costs — 2017-12-06

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 3.0 percent during the third quarter of 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 4.1 percent and hours worked increased 1.1 percent. The productivity increase was the largest since the third quarter of 2014, when output per hour increased 4.4 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017, productivity increased 1.5 percent, reflecting a 3.0-percent increase in output and a 1.5-percent increase in hours worked. (See tables A1 and 2.) Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked by all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.