2020 Second Quarter (Revised) Productivity and Costs — 2020-09-03

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 10.1 percent in the second quarter of 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output decreased 37.1 percent and hours worked decreased 42.9 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates, and show what the percent change would be if the quarterly rate continued for four quarters.) The 10.1-percent increase in nonfarm business sector labor productivity in the second quarter of 2020 is the largest quarterly increase since the first quarter of 1971, when output per hour increased 12.3 percent. The declines in both output and hours worked in the second quarter of 2020 were the largest in these series, which begin with data for first-quarter 1947. From the second quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020, productivity increased 2.8 percent, reflecting an 11.2-percent decrease in output and a 13.6-percent decrease in hours worked.