Productivity, output, and hours worked, third quarter 2011

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 3.1 percent annual rate during the third quarter of 2011. Output and hours worked rose 3.8 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

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Manufacturing sector productivity grew 5.4 percent in the third quarter of 2011, as output rose 4.7 percent and hours decreased 0.8 percent. Productivity jumped 9.9 percent in the durable goods sector and increased 0.7 percent in the nondurable goods sector.

These data are from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data in this report are seasonally adjusted annual rates. These estimates are subject to revision. To learn more, see "Productivity and Costs, Third Quarter 2011, Preliminary" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-11-1575. 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.