2011 Multifactor Productivity Trends — 2013-04-09

Private nonfarm business sector multifactor productivity increased at a 1.0 percent annual rate in 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1, table A.) The multifactor productivity gain in 2011 reflected a 2.7 percent increase in output and 1.7 percent increase in the combined inputs of capital and labor. Capital services grew by 0.8 percent, and labor input � which is the combined effect of hours worked and labor composition � grew 2.2 percent, the largest gain in the series since 2006. This series began in 1987. (See table A, table 1.) Capital services per hour of all persons fell 1.2 percent for the private nonfarm business sector. Prior to 2011, this measure had increased each year with the exception of 1994, when it was unchanged. Multifactor productivity measures the change in output per unit of combined capital and labor input.