Output, hours, and productivity in the second quarter of 2011

From the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011, nonfarm business sector output increased 2.5 percent while hours rose 1.6 percent, yielding an increase in labor productivity of 0.8 percent.

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Over the last four quarters, manufacturing sector productivity increased 2.3 percent as output rose 4.4 percent and hours increased 2.1 percent

Productivity increased 2.5 percent in the durable goods sector from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011 as output rose 7.2 percent and hours increased 4.6 percent.

Nondurable goods manufacturing productivity increased 3.5 percent as output increased 1.7 percent and hours decreased 1.8 percent.

These data are from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. These estimates are preliminary and subject to revision. Additional information, including the change from the previous quarter, can be found in "Productivity and Costs, Second Quarter 2011, Preliminary" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-11-1185. Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours of all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.