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:
February 04, 2021US PRODUCTIVITY, FOURTH QUARTER 2020 AND 2020 ANNUAL The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has released preliminary productivity estimates for the fourth quarter of 2020. All figures are reported as growth from the previous quarter at seasonally adjusted annualized rates.
Nonfarm business sector labour productivity in the US decreased 4.8% in Q4 2020. The fourth quarter 2020 decline in productivity is the largest quarterly decline in productivity since Q2 1981.
Output increased at an annualized rate of 5.3% in Q4, down from a 44.1% increase in Q3. Hours worked increased at an annualized rate of 10.7% compared to a 37.1% increase in Q3. These second consecutive quarterly increases for output and hours follow historic declines in Q2 2020. Output and hours worked remain 3.0% and 5.0% below fourth quarter 2019 levels, respectively.
US unit labour costs increased 6.8% at an annual rate in Q4 2020, up due to a 1.7% increase in hourly compensation and a 4.8% decline in productivity.
Manufacturing sector labour productivity increased 3.0% in Q4, as output increased 11.2% and hours worked increased 8.0%. The increase in manufacturing productivity was attributable to durable goods manufacturing, where productivity increased 5.3%. Nondurable goods manufacturing productivity was unchanged in Q4 2020.
ANNUAL
Annual productivity in the nonfarm business sector increased 2.6% in 2020, with output decreasing 4.2% versus a 6.6% drop in hours worked. The decline in output is the largest annual decline in the series, which began in 1947. The annual increase in Labour productivity is the largest since 2010.
Unit labour costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 4.3% in 2020, with a 7.0% gain in hourly compensation and a 2.6% increase in productivity.
Manufacturing sector productivity declined 0.2% in 2020, reflecting a decrease in output of 6.5% and a decrease in hours of 6.4%. The decreases in manufacturing output and hours were the largest annual declines since in 2009. Manufacturing unit labour costs increased 7.4% in 2020.
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 of 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.
BLS quarterly estimates of labour productivity combine output data with hours worked data based primarily on BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey and supplemented with data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). The March reference period for these surveys largely predated many of the COVID-19-related job losses that occurred in the latter part of March. To capture these job losses, adjustments were made to employment and hours using supplementary data which are reflected in Q1 2020 hours worked and related measures. BLS found that adjustments applied to the second quarter produced results similar to the standard methodology. Therefore, BLS did not apply adjustments for Q2.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
<--- Return to Archive
