2000 Multifactor Productivity Trends — 2002-03-12

From 1999 to 2000, multifactor productivity rose 1.9 percent in the private business sector and 1.8 percent in the private nonfarm business sector, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Multifactor productivity increased for the ninth consecutive year in both the private business and private nonfarm business sectors. The 1999-2000 rates of increase were the highest since 1992. The 2000 annual changes are summarized in table A, and further detail and historical measures are shown in tables 1 through 6. Manufacturing multifactor productivity measures are not yet available for 2000. Chart 1 shows the annual indexes of multifactor productivity, output per hour worked, and output per unit of capital services for the 1948-2000 period for private business. Over the last 50 years, capital services have grown more rapidly than hours in the private business sector, and the skills of workers as measured by their education and work experience also have risen over this period.