The Economics and Statistics Division maintains archives of previous publications for accountability purposes, but makes no updates to keep these documents current with the latest data revisions from Statistics Canada. As a result, information in older documents may not be accurate. Please exercise caution when referring to older documents. For the latest information and historical data, please contact the individual listed to the right.
<--- Return to Archive
For additional information relating to this article, please contact:
June 06, 2018US PRODUCTIVITY 1ST QUARTER 2018 (REV) The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has revised productivity estimates for 2018Q1. All figures are reported as growth from the previous quarter at seasonally adjusted annualized rates.
Nonfarm business sector labour productivity in the US increased 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2018 (slower than the initial estimate of 0.7 per cent). Output increased 2.7 per cent and hours worked increasing 2.3 per cent.
US unit labour costs increased 2.9 per cent, as the 0.4 per cent increase in productivity offset some of the 3.3 per cent rise in hourly compensation.
Manufacturing sector labour productivity decreased 1.2 per cent in Q1 with output increasing 1.7 per cent and hours worked increasing 2.9 per cent. Productivity was down 0.8 per cent for durable goods and down by 0.9 per cent in nondurable manufacturing. Unit labour costs increased 5.2 per cent in US manufacturing during Q1.
Notes: labour productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked by all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. Unit labour costs are calculated as the ratio fo hourly compensation to labour productivity; increases in hourly compensation increase unit labour costs while increases in productivity (output per hour) reduce unit labour costs. US manufacturing output is calculated on a different basis than for all nonfarm businesses, so these series are not directly comparable.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
<--- Return to Archive
