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Labor productivity and unit labor costs among manufacturing industries, 2011

March 28, 2013

Labor productivity—defined as output per hour—increased in 13 of 21 manufacturing industries in 2011. Output increased in 16 of these industries, and hours declined in 10. Unit labor costs fell in 10 of 21 manufacturing industries in 2011.

Chart Image
Chart Data

Percent change in output per hour and unit labor costs, NAICS 3-digit manufacturing industries, 2010-2011

Percent change in output per hour and unit labor costs, NAICS 3-digit manufacturing industries, 2010–2011
3-digit manufacturing industry	Output per hour(p)	Unit labor costs(p)	2011 employment level
Textile product mills	6.6	-1.2	125,100
Machinery	4.8	-4.1	1,068,900
Electrical equipment and appliances	4.8	-2.6	368,300
Printing and related support activities	4.7	-0.8	496,400
Computer and electronic products	4.4	0.0	1,111,300
Paper and paper products	2.7	0.3	388,300
Nonmetallic mineral products	2.6	-0.5	383,500
Petroleum and coal products	1.9	3.0	112,600
Fabricated metal products	1.9	-1.4	1,373,200
Transportation equipment	1.2	-0.1	1,398,000
Apparel	1.0	-0.5	168,800
Wood products	0.8	-0.3	359,800
Chemicals	0.3	2.9	790,500
Food	-0.1	1.3	1,493,400
Furniture and related products	-0.2	-3.7	375,800
Leather and allied products	-0.3	2.0	30,100
Plastics and rubber products	-0.9	1.0	637,200
Miscellaneous manufacturing	-1.3	1.7	625,600
Textile mills	-1.9	2.7	129,100
Primary metals	-2.0	1.4	391,100
Beverage and tobacco products	-5.7	1.7	191,900
Footnotes: (p) preliminary.

Among manufacturing industries in 2011, productivity rose fastest in textile product mills (6.6 percent), where output increased despite a drop in hours. Only 3 of the 21 industries registered greater productivity growth, or smaller productivity declines, than in the previous year.

In 2011, unit labor costs declined more frequently in manufacturing industries where productivity rose, as productivity gains offset increases in hourly compensation. Unit labor costs fell in 9 of the 13 industries where productivity rose.

These data are from the Labor Productivity and Costs program. The productivity measures reflect data classified according to the 2007 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The industry comparisons shown here are at the three-digit level of the six-digit NAICS coding structure. All of the measures for 2011 are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Productivity and Costs by Industry: Manufacturing Industries, 2011" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑13‑0478.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Labor productivity and unit labor costs among manufacturing industries, 2011 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130328.htm (visited December 05, 2024).

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