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Productivity down 1.4 percent, real hourly compensation down 3.4 percent, over past year
November 10, 2022
From the third quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2022, nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 1.4 percent, reflecting a 1.9-percent increase in output and a 3.4-percent increase in hours worked. This quarter marks the first time this measure has seen three consecutive year-over-year declines since 1982.
Labor productivity (output per hour), and related measures, percent change from same quarter a year ago, 1st quarter 1948–3rd quarter 2022
Labor productivity
Real hourly compensation
Unit labor costs
Output
Hourly compensation
Hours worked
Q1 1948
3.8%
1.4%
6.3%
5.8%
10.4%
1.9%
Q2 1948
1.2
0.3
8.0
3.1
9.3
1.8
Q3 1948
4.5
-0.1
3.7
6.9
8.4
2.3
Q4 1948
0.7
2.3
6.1
1.1
6.9
0.4
Q1 1949
1.3
3.6
3.7
-0.7
5.0
-1.9
Q2 1949
2.6
4.2
1.2
-1.0
3.9
-3.5
Q3 1949
4.9
4.9
-2.8
-0.5
2.0
-5.2
Q4 1949
3.9
2.9
-3.1
-1.0
0.7
-4.8
Q1 1950
6.4
4.3
-3.5
3.9
2.7
-2.4
Q2 1950
6.6
5.4
-1.8
8.5
4.7
1.7
Q3 1950
6.4
4.4
0.2
12.9
6.6
6.1
Q4 1950
7.2
5.0
2.3
15.2
9.6
7.5
Q1 1951
3.7
0.4
5.4
12.5
9.4
8.5
Q2 1951
2.2
0.2
7.1
9.0
9.5
6.7
Q3 1951
2.2
1.3
6.1
4.7
8.5
2.5
Q4 1951
2.3
1.2
5.4
3.9
7.8
1.6
Q1 1952
2.7
3.5
3.6
3.3
6.5
0.5
Q2 1952
2.8
2.8
2.0
2.1
4.9
-0.7
Q3 1952
0.1
2.2
4.9
1.1
5.1
1.0
Q4 1952
1.9
4.2
3.7
5.6
5.7
3.6
Q1 1953
2.3
5.0
3.4
6.4
5.8
4.0
Q2 1953
2.7
5.3
3.4
7.5
6.2
4.6
Q3 1953
3.7
5.3
2.3
6.7
6.0
2.9
Q4 1953
1.2
3.7
3.2
-0.2
4.4
-1.3
Q1 1954
0.5
2.8
3.6
-3.2
4.1
-3.7
Q2 1954
1.0
2.3
2.0
-3.6
3.0
-4.6
Q3 1954
2.4
2.8
0.4
-1.7
2.7
-4.0
Q4 1954
3.9
3.3
-1.1
2.6
2.8
-1.3
Q1 1955
5.7
3.2
-2.9
7.5
2.6
1.7
Q2 1955
5.3
3.9
-1.9
9.4
3.4
3.8
Q3 1955
3.9
4.6
0.5
9.4
4.4
5.3
Q4 1955
2.3
3.9
1.9
7.7
4.3
5.3
Q1 1956
-0.9
4.9
6.1
3.3
5.2
4.2
Q2 1956
-0.7
5.2
7.1
2.4
6.3
3.1
Q3 1956
-1.1
4.0
7.2
0.5
6.0
1.6
Q4 1956
0.3
4.2
6.5
1.3
6.9
1.0
Q1 1957
2.7
3.2
3.9
3.2
6.7
0.5
Q2 1957
1.8
2.1
3.9
1.8
5.8
0.0
Q3 1957
3.3
2.0
2.2
3.2
5.6
0.0
Q4 1957
2.5
2.0
2.6
-0.2
5.2
-2.7
Q1 1958
0.0
0.2
3.8
-5.0
3.7
-4.9
Q2 1958
2.3
0.3
1.3
-4.0
3.6
-6.1
Q3 1958
2.8
2.3
1.8
-1.9
4.6
-4.5
Q4 1958
4.1
1.7
-0.5
3.0
3.7
-1.1
Q1 1959
5.7
3.8
-1.0
9.1
4.7
3.2
Q2 1959
4.7
4.2
-0.1
11.7
4.6
6.7
Q3 1959
2.9
1.9
-0.1
8.2
2.8
5.1
Q4 1959
0.9
1.9
2.5
4.5
3.4
3.6
Q1 1960
3.1
3.2
1.4
5.5
4.6
2.3
Q2 1960
0.6
2.5
3.8
1.1
4.4
0.5
Q3 1960
1.0
3.0
3.3
1.3
4.4
0.3
Q4 1960
0.0
2.4
3.8
-0.7
3.8
-0.7
Q1 1961
-1.0
1.0
3.6
-2.9
2.6
-1.9
Q2 1961
3.2
2.4
0.1
0.9
3.3
-2.3
Q3 1961
4.3
2.3
-0.8
3.1
3.5
-1.1
Q4 1961
6.6
3.1
-2.6
7.7
3.8
1.0
Q1 1962
7.0
3.6
-2.3
9.1
4.6
2.0
Q2 1962
3.8
2.5
0.0
7.4
3.8
3.5
Q3 1962
3.8
2.5
0.0
6.5
3.8
2.6
Q4 1962
3.7
2.6
0.2
4.4
3.9
0.7
Q1 1963
2.3
2.1
1.0
3.3
3.3
1.0
Q2 1963
3.5
2.1
-0.3
3.9
3.1
0.4
Q3 1963
4.3
2.1
-0.8
5.2
3.5
0.9
Q4 1963
3.5
2.3
0.2
5.8
3.7
2.3
Q1 1964
3.8
0.9
-1.4
7.8
2.4
3.8
Q2 1964
3.6
1.5
-0.6
7.3
3.0
3.6
Q3 1964
2.1
2.2
1.1
6.2
3.3
4.0
Q4 1964
1.2
1.6
1.6
5.5
2.9
4.2
Q1 1965
2.1
2.4
1.5
5.8
3.6
3.6
Q2 1965
2.0
1.5
1.2
6.3
3.2
4.2
Q3 1965
3.0
1.2
-0.1
6.9
2.9
3.8
Q4 1965
5.8
1.9
-2.0
9.8
3.7
3.8
Q1 1966
5.7
2.6
-0.6
9.6
5.0
3.7
Q2 1966
4.5
3.2
1.5
8.3
6.0
3.7
Q3 1966
2.7
3.0
3.6
6.7
6.4
3.9
Q4 1966
1.6
2.6
4.6
4.3
6.3
2.6
Q1 1967
1.0
2.9
4.8
2.1
5.8
1.1
Q2 1967
2.1
3.2
3.7
1.6
5.9
-0.5
Q3 1967
2.3
3.0
3.4
1.7
5.8
-0.6
Q4 1967
2.0
2.7
3.7
2.1
5.8
0.1
Q1 1968
3.4
3.3
3.6
3.8
7.2
0.4
Q2 1968
4.0
3.0
3.1
6.0
7.2
1.9
Q3 1968
3.5
2.9
3.8
5.9
7.5
2.3
Q4 1968
3.0
3.4
5.0
5.5
8.2
2.5
Q1 1969
1.5
1.8
5.2
4.8
6.8
3.3
Q2 1969
-0.2
1.2
7.0
3.0
6.8
3.2
Q3 1969
-0.2
1.3
7.1
2.8
6.9
3.0
Q4 1969
-0.4
1.0
7.3
1.7
6.8
2.1
Q1 1970
-0.9
1.0
8.3
-0.2
7.3
0.7
Q2 1970
1.4
1.2
5.8
-0.1
7.3
-1.5
Q3 1970
2.9
1.3
4.1
0.3
7.1
-2.4
Q4 1970
2.4
0.5
3.6
-0.6
6.1
-2.9
Q1 1971
5.1
1.5
1.2
2.9
6.4
-2.1
Q2 1971
3.9
1.9
2.3
3.4
6.3
-0.5
Q3 1971
3.3
1.7
2.6
3.3
6.0
0.0
Q4 1971
3.3
2.1
2.3
5.3
5.7
1.9
Q1 1972
1.9
2.8
4.4
4.5
6.4
2.6
Q2 1972
3.6
2.8
2.4
6.7
6.1
3.0
Q3 1972
3.3
3.0
2.7
6.9
6.1
3.5
Q4 1972
5.1
3.9
2.2
8.8
7.4
3.5
Q1 1973
5.8
3.0
1.3
9.9
7.2
3.9
Q2 1973
3.8
1.7
3.5
8.2
7.4
4.2
Q3 1973
2.2
1.0
5.5
6.6
7.9
4.3
Q4 1973
0.7
-0.4
7.2
4.5
8.0
3.8
Q1 1974
-1.8
-2.1
9.5
0.0
7.6
1.8
Q2 1974
-2.1
-1.5
11.2
-1.1
8.9
1.0
Q3 1974
-2.2
-1.1
12.7
-2.2
10.2
0.0
Q4 1974
-0.7
-0.9
11.8
-2.8
11.0
-2.1
Q1 1975
0.3
0.6
11.4
-4.5
11.8
-4.7
Q2 1975
2.2
1.6
8.8
-3.8
11.2
-5.9
Q3 1975
4.5
1.2
5.2
-0.4
10.0
-4.7
Q4 1975
3.7
1.3
4.9
2.2
8.8
-1.5
Q1 1976
4.5
1.2
3.1
8.0
7.7
3.4
Q2 1976
3.8
1.3
3.5
8.3
7.4
4.4
Q3 1976
2.8
2.1
4.8
6.7
7.8
3.8
Q4 1976
3.0
2.9
5.1
5.7
8.3
2.7
Q1 1977
2.1
2.2
6.0
4.2
8.2
2.1
Q2 1977
1.6
1.5
6.7
5.6
8.4
3.9
Q3 1977
2.4
1.6
5.7
7.2
8.3
4.6
Q4 1977
0.8
1.2
7.0
6.0
7.8
5.1
Q1 1978
0.2
2.2
8.4
4.7
8.6
4.5
Q2 1978
1.8
1.4
6.4
7.4
8.3
5.5
Q3 1978
0.8
1.0
7.4
6.1
8.2
5.3
Q4 1978
2.7
1.3
6.1
8.4
9.0
5.5
Q1 1979
1.8
0.4
7.1
7.7
9.0
5.8
Q2 1979
-0.4
0.5
10.0
2.7
9.6
3.1
Q3 1979
-0.6
0.0
10.6
2.6
9.9
3.2
Q4 1979
-1.3
-0.5
11.4
0.8
9.9
2.2
Q1 1980
0.0
-1.2
10.2
1.3
10.2
1.2
Q2 1980
-0.8
-0.5
11.6
-1.7
10.6
-0.9
Q3 1980
-0.3
0.0
11.3
-2.6
11.0
-2.3
Q4 1980
0.8
0.3
10.2
-0.4
11.1
-1.2
Q1 1981
1.9
0.4
8.7
1.5
10.8
-0.4
Q2 1981
1.6
0.0
8.0
3.2
9.8
1.5
Q3 1981
2.2
0.1
7.1
4.2
9.4
1.9
Q4 1981
0.1
-0.3
8.2
0.3
8.3
0.2
Q1 1982
-1.9
1.4
10.6
-3.9
8.5
-2.1
Q2 1982
-0.6
1.2
8.1
-2.3
7.4
-1.7
Q3 1982
-1.3
0.8
8.2
-3.7
6.7
-2.4
Q4 1982
0.5
1.3
6.0
-2.3
6.6
-2.8
Q1 1983
2.3
0.4
2.5
1.8
4.9
-0.6
Q2 1983
4.5
0.4
0.5
4.7
5.1
0.1
Q3 1983
4.8
0.1
-0.8
7.8
4.1
2.8
Q4 1983
4.5
0.0
-0.8
10.6
3.7
5.8
Q1 1984
3.6
-0.6
0.3
11.0
3.9
7.1
Q2 1984
2.0
-0.3
1.9
9.4
3.9
7.3
Q3 1984
2.0
0.8
2.9
7.7
4.9
5.6
Q4 1984
1.5
0.5
3.0
6.0
4.5
4.4
Q1 1985
1.4
1.1
3.2
4.7
4.7
3.2
Q2 1985
1.2
1.1
3.4
3.8
4.6
2.6
Q3 1985
2.0
1.2
2.5
4.5
4.6
2.4
Q4 1985
2.3
2.2
3.3
4.6
5.7
2.3
Q1 1986
3.2
2.8
2.6
4.6
5.9
1.3
Q2 1986
3.7
4.4
2.3
4.1
6.1
0.4
Q3 1986
2.8
4.3
2.9
3.4
5.8
0.6
Q4 1986
2.2
4.0
3.0
3.1
5.3
0.8
Q1 1987
0.5
2.3
3.7
2.8
4.2
2.2
Q2 1987
0.4
0.3
3.4
3.6
3.8
3.1
Q3 1987
0.0
-0.3
3.6
3.3
3.6
3.3
Q4 1987
1.2
-0.6
2.2
4.8
3.4
3.6
Q1 1988
2.0
1.2
2.7
4.5
4.8
2.4
Q2 1988
1.6
1.7
3.6
4.9
5.3
3.3
Q3 1988
1.9
1.8
3.5
4.7
5.5
2.8
Q4 1988
1.1
1.2
3.9
4.1
5.0
2.9
Q1 1989
0.8
-0.7
2.7
4.7
3.5
3.9
Q2 1989
0.9
-1.9
1.8
3.7
2.7
2.8
Q3 1989
1.1
-1.8
1.3
3.9
2.4
2.8
Q4 1989
0.8
-1.1
2.2
2.5
3.1
1.6
Q1 1990
1.7
0.0
2.9
2.7
4.7
0.9
Q2 1990
2.1
2.1
4.1
2.2
6.3
0.1
Q3 1990
2.0
1.6
4.7
1.3
6.8
-0.6
Q4 1990
0.9
0.3
5.1
-0.2
6.1
-1.1
Q1 1991
0.3
0.0
4.4
-2.1
4.7
-2.3
Q2 1991
1.2
0.4
3.4
-1.3
4.7
-2.5
Q3 1991
1.7
1.3
2.7
-0.4
4.5
-2.1
Q4 1991
3.3
2.7
1.8
1.4
5.1
-1.9
Q1 1992
5.0
4.8
2.1
3.5
7.2
-1.5
Q2 1992
4.2
3.5
1.9
3.7
6.2
-0.5
Q3 1992
4.3
3.5
1.8
4.0
6.1
-0.2
Q4 1992
4.4
2.6
0.9
5.0
5.3
0.6
Q1 1993
1.5
-0.7
0.4
3.6
1.9
2.1
Q2 1993
0.0
-0.9
1.6
2.9
1.7
2.9
Q3 1993
-0.4
-1.8
1.0
2.9
0.6
3.3
Q4 1993
-0.6
-1.5
1.4
3.0
0.8
3.6
Q1 1994
0.5
-1.1
0.4
3.9
0.9
3.3
Q2 1994
1.2
-0.9
-0.2
5.1
1.0
3.8
Q3 1994
0.2
-1.3
0.8
4.6
1.0
4.4
Q4 1994
0.9
-1.0
0.2
4.8
1.0
3.9
Q1 1995
0.6
-0.2
1.5
4.4
2.2
3.7
Q2 1995
1.0
-0.4
1.1
3.0
2.2
1.9
Q3 1995
1.6
0.5
1.2
3.5
2.8
1.9
Q4 1995
1.1
0.4
1.7
2.9
2.8
1.7
Q1 1996
1.6
0.8
1.6
3.1
3.3
1.5
Q2 1996
2.2
0.8
1.2
4.8
3.4
2.6
Q3 1996
2.5
1.0
1.1
4.8
3.6
2.2
Q4 1996
2.1
0.4
1.3
5.3
3.4
3.1
Q1 1997
1.2
0.7
2.2
5.1
3.5
3.8
Q2 1997
1.7
1.3
1.7
5.1
3.4
3.3
Q3 1997
2.2
1.6
1.5
5.3
3.7
3.1
Q4 1997
2.6
3.1
2.3
5.1
5.0
2.4
Q1 1998
3.7
4.1
1.7
6.0
5.5
2.2
Q2 1998
2.8
4.4
3.0
5.1
5.9
2.2
Q3 1998
3.3
5.1
3.1
5.1
6.5
1.8
Q4 1998
3.6
3.9
1.6
6.2
5.2
2.5
Q1 1999
4.1
3.8
1.2
5.9
5.3
1.8
Q2 1999
3.9
2.4
0.5
5.7
4.4
1.8
Q3 1999
3.5
1.3
0.2
5.9
3.7
2.3
Q4 1999
4.2
2.4
0.9
5.7
5.2
1.5
Q1 2000
2.4
3.5
4.4
4.6
7.0
2.1
Q2 2000
4.0
3.3
2.7
5.9
6.8
1.8
Q3 2000
3.0
4.3
4.8
4.2
7.9
1.1
Q4 2000
2.5
2.9
3.8
2.9
6.4
0.4
Q1 2001
2.3
1.6
2.7
2.2
5.1
-0.1
Q2 2001
2.2
1.8
3.0
0.8
5.2
-1.4
Q3 2001
2.8
0.7
0.5
0.2
3.4
-2.6
Q4 2001
3.1
1.8
0.6
-0.4
3.7
-3.3
Q1 2002
5.7
0.7
-3.6
1.4
1.9
-4.1
Q2 2002
4.1
1.1
-1.7
1.1
2.4
-2.9
Q3 2002
4.3
1.2
-1.5
2.1
2.8
-2.1
Q4 2002
2.9
-0.2
-0.8
2.1
2.1
-0.8
Q1 2003
1.8
-0.7
0.4
1.3
2.3
-0.5
Q2 2003
3.0
1.1
0.2
1.9
3.1
-1.0
Q3 2003
4.4
1.9
-0.3
3.9
4.1
-0.5
Q4 2003
5.5
3.2
-0.2
5.3
5.3
-0.2
Q1 2004
4.3
2.6
0.2
5.0
4.5
0.8
Q2 2004
3.9
1.9
0.7
5.1
4.7
1.1
Q3 2004
2.1
2.3
2.8
3.8
5.0
1.6
Q4 2004
1.7
0.6
2.3
3.4
4.0
1.7
Q1 2005
3.1
1.8
1.7
4.6
4.9
1.5
Q2 2005
1.9
0.6
1.6
3.9
3.5
2.0
Q3 2005
2.1
-0.8
0.9
3.7
3.0
1.6
Q4 2005
1.7
-0.5
1.5
3.4
3.2
1.7
Q1 2006
1.3
0.8
3.2
3.8
4.5
2.5
Q2 2006
1.3
0.1
2.7
3.5
4.0
2.2
Q3 2006
0.4
-0.4
2.5
2.8
3.0
2.3
Q4 2006
1.0
2.0
2.9
3.2
4.0
2.1
Q1 2007
0.4
1.8
3.9
1.7
4.3
1.3
Q2 2007
0.9
1.4
3.2
2.4
4.1
1.5
Q3 2007
2.1
1.9
2.1
2.8
4.3
0.7
Q4 2007
2.3
-0.1
1.6
2.2
3.9
-0.1
Q1 2008
1.5
-1.5
1.0
0.9
2.6
-0.5
Q2 2008
2.3
-1.4
0.5
0.7
2.8
-1.6
Q3 2008
1.5
-1.8
1.8
-0.8
3.4
-2.3
Q4 2008
0.4
1.9
3.1
-4.3
3.5
-4.7
Q1 2009
2.0
0.0
-2.1
-5.0
-0.2
-6.8
Q2 2009
3.1
3.2
-0.8
-5.7
2.3
-8.5
Q3 2009
4.4
3.6
-2.3
-4.5
2.0
-8.5
Q4 2009
6.2
-0.3
-4.7
-0.2
1.2
-6.0
Q1 2010
5.5
0.6
-2.4
2.1
2.9
-3.2
Q2 2010
3.5
-0.3
-2.0
3.4
1.4
-0.1
Q3 2010
2.7
0.1
-1.3
4.2
1.3
1.4
Q4 2010
1.5
-0.1
-0.3
3.6
1.2
2.0
Q1 2011
0.5
1.8
3.4
2.5
4.0
1.9
Q2 2011
0.2
-1.4
1.7
2.4
1.9
2.2
Q3 2011
-0.7
-1.5
2.9
1.3
2.1
2.1
Q4 2011
-0.4
-3.0
0.7
2.0
0.3
2.4
Q1 2012
0.7
-2.0
0.1
3.8
0.8
3.1
Q2 2012
1.2
0.3
1.0
3.4
2.2
2.2
Q3 2012
1.2
-0.3
0.1
3.7
1.4
2.4
Q4 2012
0.3
3.5
5.3
2.4
5.5
2.1
Q1 2013
0.4
-0.2
1.2
2.1
1.6
1.7
Q2 2013
-0.4
0.3
2.2
1.5
1.8
2.0
Q3 2013
0.3
0.0
1.3
2.3
1.6
2.0
Q4 2013
1.4
-1.5
-1.7
3.1
-0.2
1.6
Q1 2014
-0.1
1.7
3.3
1.6
3.2
1.7
Q2 2014
1.1
-0.2
0.8
3.2
1.9
2.1
Q3 2014
1.4
0.9
1.4
3.8
2.8
2.3
Q4 2014
0.1
1.8
3.0
3.3
3.1
3.2
Q1 2015
1.8
2.4
0.4
4.9
2.3
3.0
Q2 2015
1.3
3.6
2.4
3.9
3.7
2.6
Q3 2015
0.8
3.6
3.0
2.6
3.9
1.8
Q4 2015
0.8
2.1
1.8
2.1
2.6
1.3
Q1 2016
0.4
0.4
1.0
1.8
1.4
1.4
Q2 2016
0.0
-0.3
0.8
1.4
0.9
1.4
Q3 2016
0.2
-0.5
0.5
1.8
0.6
1.6
Q4 2016
1.3
0.1
0.6
2.4
2.0
1.0
Q1 2017
1.1
0.4
1.8
2.1
3.0
1.0
Q2 2017
1.0
1.3
2.2
2.4
3.2
1.4
Q3 2017
1.6
2.1
2.5
2.8
4.1
1.3
Q4 2017
1.4
2.1
2.9
3.4
4.3
2.0
Q1 2018
1.7
1.7
2.3
3.8
4.0
2.1
Q2 2018
2.1
1.1
1.7
3.9
3.8
1.8
Q3 2018
1.4
0.8
2.0
3.7
3.5
2.3
Q4 2018
0.9
0.4
1.6
2.6
2.6
1.7
Q1 2019
1.4
2.5
2.7
2.6
4.2
1.2
Q2 2019
1.7
1.9
2.1
2.6
3.8
0.9
Q3 2019
1.9
1.1
1.0
2.7
2.9
0.9
Q4 2019
2.6
2.0
1.5
3.0
4.1
0.4
Q1 2020
1.4
2.0
2.7
0.5
4.2
-1.0
Q2 2020
5.1
9.8
4.9
-10.4
10.3
-14.8
Q3 2020
6.4
7.3
2.1
-2.4
8.6
-8.2
Q4 2020
4.7
8.0
4.5
-1.5
9.3
-5.9
Q1 2021
5.8
4.5
0.6
2.2
6.4
-3.4
Q2 2021
2.2
-2.4
0.1
16.3
2.3
13.8
Q3 2021
-0.2
0.2
5.7
6.3
5.5
6.5
Q4 2021
1.9
-1.4
3.2
7.3
5.2
5.3
Q1 2022
-0.4
-1.8
6.5
4.5
6.1
4.8
Q2 2022
-2.1
-3.0
7.6
1.9
5.4
4.1
Q3 2022
-1.4
-3.4
6.1
1.9
4.7
3.4
Real hourly compensation declined 3.4 percent from the third quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2022. This was the largest four-quarter decline since the data began in 1948. Hourly compensation not adjusted for inflation rose by 4.7 percent. Unit labor costs rose by 6.1 percent, reflecting the increase in hourly compensation along with the 1.4-percent decrease in labor productivity.
These data are from the Productivity program and are subject to revision. See "Productivity and Costs — Third Quarter 2022 (Preliminary)" to learn more. Also see charts related to the latest "Productivity and Costs" news release. Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked for all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. Unit labor costs are calculated as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity. Increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor costs and increases in productivity tend to reduce them.
United States Department of Labor
