2015 Third Quarter (Preliminary) Productivity and Costs — 2015-11-05

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 1.6-percent annual rate during the third quarter of 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 1.2 percent and hours worked decreased 0.5 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) The decline in hours worked was the first decline in this series since a 4.8-percent decline in the third quarter of 2009. From the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015, productivity increased 0.4 percent, reflecting increases in output and hours worked of 2.3 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. (See table A.) Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked of all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.