2001 Multifactor Productivity Trends — 2003-04-08

From 2000 to 2001, multifactor productivity fell 1.0 percent in both the private business sector and the private nonfarm business sector for the first time since 1991, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Although short-term fluctuations of multifactor productivity and output per hour generally move in the same direction, multifactor productivity decreased and output per hour increased in 2001. The 2001 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 2001. Chart 1 shows the annual indexes of multifactor productivity, output per hour worked, and output per unit of capital services for the 1948-2001 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.