_ 

For release 10:00 am (ET) March 23, 2021 USDL-21-0547

Technical information: (202) 691-5606 • mfpweb@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mfp 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

 

MULTIFACTOR PRODUCTIVITY TRENDS – 2020

Private nonfarm business sector multifactor productivity decreased 1.7 percent in 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics reported today. (See chart 1, table A.) This 2020 decrease reflects a 4.2-percent decrease in output and a 2.5-

percent decrease in the combined inputs of capital and labor. Capital services grew by 2.4 percent and labor input–which 

is the combined effect of hours worked and labor composition–decreased by 5.2 percent. (See table 1.) 

Chart 1. Multifactor productivity, combined inputs, and output in the private nonfarm business sector, 2007-20 

Annual percent change

Multifactor productivity (MFP) is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of combined units of labor 

input and capital services. Multifactor productivity annual measures differ from BLS quarterly labor productivity 

(output per hour worked) measures because the former also includes the influences of capital services and shifts in the 

composition of workers. Measures for the most recent year of this release are preliminary estimates. See the Technical 

Notes for additional information. 

Private business sector multifactor productivity also decreased 1.7 percent in 2020, as output decreased 4.1 percent 

and combined inputs decreased 2.4 percent. (See table A, table 2.) 

-5.0

-4.0

-3.0

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Multifactor Productivity Combined Inputs Output
- 2 - 

Multifactor Productivity Trends 

The 1.7-percent decline in nonfarm private business sector MFP in 2020 was the result of combined inputs decreasing 

(-2.5 percent) less than the decrease in real value added output (-4.2 percent). The 1.7-percent decline in MFP is the 

largest decline in the measure since the Great Recession period of 2007-09, which is also the last time both private 

nonfarm business output and private nonfarm business combined inputs decreased. (See chart 2). 

Chart 2. Multifactor productivity, output, and combined input indexes in the private nonfarm business sector, 

2007-20 

Index 2012=100 

The components of combined inputs can be broken down into capital services, hours worked, and labor composition. 

The 2020 capital services growth of 2.4 percent was similar to the Great Recession’s capital services growth of 2.0 

percent. Hours worked experienced its largest decline since 2009 at 6.5 percent. Labor composition in 2020 had a record 

growth of 1.6 percent which outpaced the 2007-09 recessionary growth by almost a full percentage point. (See chart 3). 

Chart 3. Combined inputs, capital services, hours worked, and labor composition, selected time periods 

Average annual growth/percent growth 

80.0

85.0

90.0

95.0

100.0

105.0

110.0

115.0

120.0

125.0

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Multifactor Productivity Combined Inputs Output

2.0

2.4

-4.7

-6.5

0.7

1.6

-1.9 -2.5

-8.0

-6.0

-4.0

-2.0

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

2007-2009 2020

Capital Services Hours Worked Labor Composition Combined Inputs
- 3 - 

Labor Productivity Trends 

Labor productivity growth can be viewed as the sum of three components: multifactor productivity growth, the 

contribution of capital intensity, and the contribution of shifts in the composition of labor. In 2020, private nonfarm 

business labor productivity increased 2.5 percent, the highest since a 3.4-percent increase in 2010. 

For private nonfarm business in 2020, the contribution of capital intensity to labor productivity was 3.3 percentage 

points, the largest contribution in the history of the series which began in 1948. (See chart 4.) Capital intensity is the 

ratio of capital services to hours worked in the production process. The higher the capital to hours ratio, the more capital 

intensive the production process is. The 2020 increase in the contribution of capital intensity was due to a 6.5-percent 

decline in hours worked. 

The contribution of labor composition of 1.0 percentage points in 2020 is the largest annual contribution to labor 

productivity since the series began in 1948. The labor composition index estimates the effect of shifts in the age, 

education, and gender composition of the workforce on hours worked. The 2020 growth in the contribution of labor 

composition was again due to the large hours decline of 6.5 percent and a shift in the composition of the workforce to 

older and more educated employees. 

Chart 4. Contributions to labor productivity growth, private nonfarm business sector, selected time periods 

 

Percentage point 

 

Note: Multifactor productivity plus the contributions of capital intensity and labor composition may not sum to labor productivity due to independent 

rounding. 

Capital Services Trends 

Capital services in the private nonfarm business sector increased at an average annual rate of 3.0 percent in 2019, the 

latest year of available detailed capital data. This was the largest single year of growth since 2015 when capital services 

grew 3.1 percent. Chart 5 shows how the growth of capital services by asset category for private nonfarm business in 

2019 outpaced the growth in the 2007-19 business cycle. The high capital services growth in 2019 was driven by 

intellectual property products and equipment. Intellectual property products grew 5.8 percent in 2019, larger than the 

average annual growth rate of 4.5 percent in the 2007-19 business cycle. Equipment grew 3.6 percent in 2019, slightly 

higher than the 2007-19 business cycle average annual growth rate of 3.2 percent. (See chart 5, table C.) 

0.9 1.1

0.7

3.3

0.3 0.2

0.2

1.0

1.0

1.4

0.5

-1.7

-2.0

-1.0

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

1990-2000 2000-2007 2007-2019 2020

Contribution of capital intensity Contribution of labor composition Multifactor Productivity
- 4 - 

The 2007-19 business cycle continued the slowdown in capital services growth. Its average annual growth rate of 2.4 

percent is almost half of the peak average annual growth rate of 4.7 percent in the 1990-2000 business cycle, and 1.1-

percentage points lower than the previous 2000-07 business cycle. (See table C.) 

Chart 5. Capital services growth in the private nonfarm business sector, selected time periods 

Average annual percent change 

 0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

Intellectual property products Equipment Structures All other capital

1990-2000 2000-2007 2007-2019 2019
- 5 - 

Table A. Productivity, output, and inputs in the private nonfarm business and private business sectors for 

selected periods, 1987-2020 

Average annual growth rates

1987- 

2020 

1987- 

1990 

1990- 

2000 

2000- 

2007 

2007-

2019 

2018-

2019 

2019- 

2020 

 Private nonfarm business1

 

Productivity 

Multifactor Productivity2 0.7 0.4 1.0 1.4 0.5 0.7 -1.7

Labor productivity3

 2.0 1.4 2.2 2.7 1.4 1.8 2.5

Output per unit of capital 

services

-0.7 -0.5 -0.6 -0.6 -0.4 -0.5 -6.4 

Output 2.7 3.2 4.0 2.9 2.0 2.5 -4.2

 Combined inputs4 1.9 2.8 3.0 1.5 1.5 1.8 -2.5

 Labor Input5 1.2 2.3 2.2 0.5 0.9 1.0 -5.2

 Hours 0.7 1.8 1.7 0.1 0.5 0.7 -6.5

 Labor composition6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 1.6

 Capital services 3.4 3.8 4.7 3.5 2.4 3.0 2.4

Analytic ratio

 Capital intensity7

2.7 2.0 2.9 3.4 1.8 2.3 9.5

 Private business1

 

Productivity 

Multifactor Productivity2 0.8 0.5 1.0 1.4 0.5 0.7 -1.7

Labor productivity3 2.0 1.6 2.3 2.8 1.4 1.8 2.5

Output per unit of capital 

services

-0.6 -0.5 -0.5 -0.6 -0.3 -0.5 -6.4

 Output 2.7 3.2 4.0 2.9 2.0 2.5 -4.1 

 Combined inputs4 1.9 2.7 2.9 1.4 1.5 1.8 -2.4

 Labor Input5 1.1 2.2 2.2 0.4 0.9 1.0 -5.1

 Hours 0.7 1.6 1.7 0.1 0.5 0.7 -6.4

 Labor composition6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 1.5

 Capital services 3.3 3.7 4.5 3.4 2.3 3.0 2.4

Analytic ratio

Capital intensity7

2.7 2.0 2.8 3.4 1.8 2.2 9.5 

1 Excludes government enterprises. 

2 Output per combined units of labor input and capital services. 

3 Output per hour worked. 

4 The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar costs. 

5 Hours worked by age, education, and gender group are weighted by each group’s share of median wages. 

6 Ratio of labor input to hours. 

7 Capital services per hour. 

 
- 6 - 

Table B. Labor productivity growth and the contributions of capital intensity, labor composition, and 

multifactor productivity to labor productivity growth, private nonfarm business and private business sectors 

Average annual growth rates/ percentage point contributions 

1987-

2019

1987-

2020*

1987-

1990 

1990-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2019

2018-

2019

2019-

2020*

Private nonfarm business1

Labor productivity Growth2 2.0 2.0 1.4 2.2 2.7 1.4 1.8 2.5 

Contribution of capital intensity3 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.9 1.1 0.7 0.9 3.3 

Contribution of information

processing equipment (IPE)4 0.3 - 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 - 

Contribution of research and 

development (R&D)5 0.1 - 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 - 

Contribution of intellectual

property products (IPP) 

excluding R&D6 0.2 - 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 - 

Contribution of capital 

services excluding IPP & IPE 0.2 - 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.3 - 

Contribution of labor composition7 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 1.0 

Multifactor productivity Growth8 0.8 0.7 0.4 1.0 1.4 0.5 0.7 -1.7 

Contribution of R&D to

multifactor productivity 0.2 - 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 - 

Private business1

 

Labor productivity Growth2 2.0 2.0 1.6 2.3 2.8 1.4 1.8 2.5 

Contribution of capital intensity3 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.9 1.1 0.7 0.8 3.3 

Contribution of information

processing equipment (IPE)4 0.3 - 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 - 

Contribution of research and 

development (R&D)5 0.1 - 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 - 

Contribution of intellectual

property products (IPP) 

excluding R&D6 0.2 - 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 - 

Contribution of capital 

services excluding IPE & IPP 0.2 - 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.3 - 

Contribution of labor composition7 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 1.0 

Multifactor productivity Growth8 0.9 0.8 0.5 1.0 1.4 0.5 0.7 -1.7 

 1 Excludes government enterprises. 

2 Output per hour worked. 

3 Capital services per hour multiplied by capital's share of current dollar costs. 

4 Information processing equipment per hour multiplied by its share of current dollar costs. 

5 Research and development per hour multiplied by its share of current dollar costs. 

6 Software and artistic originals per hour multiplied by their share of current dollar costs. 

7 Labor composition multiplied by labor's share of current dollar costs. 

8 Output per combined units of labor input and capital services. 

* - identifies where data for the most recent year are not available. 

Note: Multifactor productivity plus contribution of capital intensity and labor composition may not sum to labor productivity due to independent 

rounding. Contributions of the components of capital intensity may not sum to the total contribution of capital intensity due to independent rounding. 
- 7 - 

Table C. Real capital services growth by asset type, private nonfarm business and private business sectors 

Average annual growth rates

1987- 

2019 

1987- 

1990 

1990- 

2000 

2000- 

2007 

2007-

2019 

2018- 

2019 

 Private nonfarm business1

 

 All assets 3.5 3.8 4.7 3.5 2.4 3.0 

 Equipment 4.6 3.8 6.5 4.9 3.2 3.6 

 Information processing equipment (IPE) 9.4 8.5 13.0 9.5 6.8 6.6 

 Computers & related equipment 15.6 18.4 28.1 14.4 6.1 5.8 

 Communication equipment 9.1 6.2 7.9 9.7 10.4 9.6 

 Other IPE 3.0 2.1 3.3 3.2 2.9 4.1 

 All other equipment 2.5 1.7 3.5 2.9 1.7 2.5 

 Structures 1.6 2.9 2.1 1.3 1.0 1.2

 Intellectual property products (IPP) 5.9 7.8 7.4 5.5 4.5 5.8

 Research and development 4.5 5.8 5.4 4.2 3.5 4.4 

 Software 10.3 17.0 13.9 8.2 6.8 8.9

 Artistic originals 3.1 3.8 3.7 3.6 2.0 2.1

 Rental residential capital 1.1 2.0 1.4 2.2 0.1 0.5 

 Inventories 2.7 3.2 3.5 2.2 2.2 3.4

 Land 0.8 1.3 1.3 0.7 0.4 1.3 

 

Private business1

 

 All assets 3.4 3.7 4.5 3.4 2.3 3.0 

 Equipment 4.5 3.5 6.3 4.9 3.2 3.5 

 Information processing equipment (IPE) 9.5 8.5 13.0 9.6 6.8 6.6 

 Computers & related equipment 15.6 18.4 28.1 14.4 6.1 5.8 

 Communication equipment 9.1 6.2 7.9 9.7 10.4 9.6 

 Other IPE 3.1 2.1 3.4 3.3 3.1 4.0 

 All other equipment 2.4 1.4 3.3 2.8 1.8 2.5 

 Structures 1.5 2.8 2.0 1.2 1.0 1.2 

 Intellectual property products (IPP) 5.9 7.8 7.4 5.5 4.5 5.8 

 Research and development 4.5 5.8 5.4 4.2 3.5 4.4 

 Software 10.3 17.0 13.9 8.2 6.8 8.9 

 Artistic originals 3.1 3.8 3.7 3.6 2.0 2.1 

 Rental residential capital 1.1 2.0 1.4 2.2 0.1 0.5 

 Inventories 2.6 2.7 3.4 2.1 2.1 3.1 

 Land 0.8 3.0 1.0 0.7 0.1 1.2 

1 Excludes government enterprises. 

Note: Real capital services by asset type are not available for the most recent reference year. For a brief discussion of methods used in preparing these 

data see the Technical Notes in this release.
- - 8 - - 

Technical Notes 

Capital Services 

Capital services are the services derived from the stock of physical assets and intellectual property 

assets. There are 90 asset types for fixed business equipment, structures, inventories, land, and 

intellectual property products. Data on investment for fixed assets are obtained from the Bureau of 

Economic Analysis (BEA). Data on inventories are estimated using information from BEA and the 

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Corporation Income Returns. Data for land in the farm sector are 

obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Nonfarm industry detail for land is based 

on IRS book value data. Current-dollar value-added data, obtained from BEA, are used in estimating 

capital rental prices. 

Additional detail on information processing equipment and intellectual property products are available 

in table C. Information processing equipment is composed of three broad classes of assets: computers 

and related equipment, communications equipment, and other information processing equipment. 

Computers and related equipment includes mainframe computers, personal computers, printers, 

terminals, tape drives, storage devices, and integrated systems. Communications equipment is not 

further differentiated. Other information processing equipment includes medical equipment and related 

instruments, electromedical instruments, nonmedical instruments, photocopying and related 

equipment, and office and accounting machinery. Intellectual property products are composed of three 

broad classes of assets: software, research and development, and artistic originals. Software is 

comprised of pre-packaged and custom. Research and development is creative work undertaken to 

increase the stock of knowledge for the purpose of discovering or developing new products or 

improving existing ones. Research and Development also includes own-account R&D for software 

which had previously been classified in software. Artistic originals include theatrical movies, longlived television programs, books, music, and other forms of entertainment. Structures include 

nonresidential structures and residential capital that are rented out by profit-making firms or persons. 

Financial assets are excluded from capital services measures, as are owner-occupied residential 

structures. The aggregate capital services measures are obtained by Tornqvist aggregation of the 

capital stocks for each asset type within each of 61 NAICS industry groupings using estimated rental 

prices for each asset type. Each rental price reflects the nominal rate of return to all assets within the 

industry and rates of economic depreciation and revaluation for the specific asset; rental prices are 

adjusted for the effects of taxes. Current-dollar capital costs can be defined as each asset’s rental price 

multiplied by its constant-dollar stock, adjusting for capital composition effects. 

Capital services measures constructed for the most recent year are preliminary and are based on less 

detail than the rest of the series. These measures consist of 6 asset types as opposed to the 90 asset types 

for fixed business equipment, structures, inventories, land, and intellectual property products included in 

estimates for all previous years. The assets included in the most recent year are structures, fixed business 

equipment, intellectual property products, inventories, rental residences, and land. Investments, 

depreciation, and capital income are estimated for each of these six aggregates. Capital services are 

calculated by a chained superlative Tornqvist index combining stocks of the six asset categories, 

weighted by capital income shares. See the June 2005 Monthly Labor Review article, “Preliminary 

estimates of multifactor productivity growth” located at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/06/art3full.pdf. 
- 9 - 

Labor Input

Labor input in private business and private nonfarm business is obtained by a chained superlative 

Tornqvist aggregation of the hours worked, classified by age, education, and gender with weights 

determined by each group’s share of the total wage bill. Hours paid of employees are largely obtained 

from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. Weekly paid hours are adjusted to hours 

worked using data from the National Compensation Survey (NCS) for 1996 forward and data from the 

BLS Hours at Work survey, conducted for this purpose, prior to 1990. Between 1990 and 1995, weekly 

paid hours are adjusted to hours at work using a combination of NCS and Hours at Work survey data. 

Hours worked for nonproduction and supervisory workers are derived using data from the Current 

Population Survey (CPS), CES, and NCS. The hours worked of proprietors, unpaid family workers, 

and farm employees are derived from the CPS. Hours worked data reflect estimates in the March 4, 

2021 “Productivity and Costs” news release 

(www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ prod2_03042021.htm). 

The estimates of 2020 hours worked for the private nonfarm business and private business sectors are 

extrapolated from the hours worked reported in the nonfarm business and business sectors, respectively, 

in the March 4, 2021 “Productivity and Costs” news release 

(www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/prod2_03042021.htm). The growth rate of labor composition is 

defined as the difference between the growth rate of weighted labor input and the growth rate of the hours 

of all persons. The index of hours worked of all persons including employees, proprietors, and unpaid 

family workers, classified by age, education, and gender are weighted together using median wages to 

compute the labor composition estimates reflecting the different skillset of the work force. These cell 

estimates are smoothed using a three year moving average to address missing observations and reduce 

volatility. 

Additional information concerning data sources and methods of measuring labor composition can be 

found in “Changes in the Composition of Labor for BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2014” 

(www.bls.gov/mfp/mprlabor.pdf). 

Combined Inputs 

Labor input and capital services are combined using chained superlative Tornqvist aggregation, applying 

weights that represent each component's average share of total costs. The chained superlative Tornqvist 

index uses changing weights; the share in each year is averaged with the preceding year's share. Total 

costs are defined as the value of output less a portion of taxes on production and imports. Most taxes on 

production and imports, such as excise taxes, are excluded from costs; however, property and motor 

vehicle taxes remain in total costs. 

 
- 10 - 

Capital Intensity

Capital intensity is the ratio of capital services to hours worked in the production process. The higher the 

capital to hours ratio, the more capital intensive the production process becomes. 

In a production process, profit-maximizing/cost-minimizing firms adjust the factor proportions of capital 

and labor when the price of one factor is less than the other factor; there is a tendency for the firms to 

substitute the less expensive factor for the more expensive one. In the short run, changes in hours 

worked are more variable than changes in capital services. Changes in hours worked in business cycles 

can result in volatility of the capital intensity ratio over short periods of time. In the long run an increase 

in wages relative to the price of capital will induce the firm to substitute capital for labor, resulting in an 

increase in capital intensity. 

Rising labor costs are, in fact, an incentive for firms to introduce automated production processes. 

Industry estimates of capital to hours ratios can be obtained at www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. 

Value-Added Output

Private business sector output is a chain-type, current-weighted index constructed after excluding from 

gross domestic product (GDP) the following outputs: general government, nonprofit institutions, private 

households (including owner-occupied housing), and government enterprises. This release presents data 

for the private business and private nonfarm business sectors. Additionally, the private nonfarm business 

sector excludes farms from the private business sector, but includes agricultural services. Multifactor 

productivity measures exclude government enterprises, while the BLS quarterly Productivity and Costs 

series include them. 

The output measures are based on the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) data released by 

BEA on February 26, 2021. The estimates of 2020 output for the private nonfarm business and private 

business sectors are extrapolated from the output reported in the nonfarm business and business sectors, 

respectively, in the March 4, 2021 “Productivity and Costs” news release 

(www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/prod2_ 03042021.htm). 

 

Multifactor Productivity

Multifactor productivity measures describe the relationship between output in real terms and the inputs 

involved in its production. They do not measure the specific contributions of labor or capital, or any 

other factor of production. Rather, multifactor productivity is designed to measure the joint influences of 

technological change, efficiency improvements, returns to scale, reallocation of resources, and other 

factors on economic growth, allowing for the effects of capital and labor. 

The multifactor productivity indexes for private business and private nonfarm business are derived by 

dividing an output index by an index of combined inputs of capital services and labor input. The output 

indexes are computed as chained superlative indexes (Fisher Ideal indexes) of components of real 

output.
- 11 - 

Research and Development

The stock of research and development in private nonfarm business is derived by aggregating different 

vintages of constant dollar measures of research and development expenditures and allowing for 

depreciation. Current dollar expenditures for privately financed research and development are obtained 

from annual issues of Research and Development in Industry published by the National Science 

Foundation. BLS develops price deflators and estimates of the rate of depreciation. 

The research and development data in the private nonfarm business sector presented here show the 

effect of spillovers from economic units that conduct research and development. BEA publishes 

measures of research and development investments in each industry that include estimates of the direct 

returns to firms conducting such research and development activities. By combining the direct returns 

to firms conducting research and development with the spillover effect of other firms, a picture of the 

total overall effects of research and development can be drawn. 

Further description of these data and methods can be found in BLS Bulletin 2331 (September 1989), 

"The Impact of Research and Development on Productivity Growth" at 

www.bls.gov/mfp/mfparchive.htm. BLS measures of year-to-year contributions of research and 

development to the private nonfarm business sector and measures of the stock of research and 

development are available at www.bls.gov/mfp/rdtable.pdf. 

Other Information 

Comprehensive tables containing additional data beyond the scope of this press release are available 

upon request at (202) 691-5606 or at www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. More detailed information on 

methods, limitations, and data sources of capital and labor are provided in BLS Bulletin 2178 

(September 1983), “Trends in Multifactor Productivity, 1948-81” (www.bls.gov/mfp/mfparchive.htm) 

and on the BLS Multifactor Productivity website under the title “Technical Information About the BLS 

Multifactor Productivity Measures for Major Sectors and 18 NAICS 3-digit Manufacturing Industries” 

(www.bls.gov/mfp/mprtech.pdf). General information is available on the BLS website at 

www.bls.gov/mfp/mprover.htm. Additional data not contained in the release can be obtained at 

www.bls.gov/mfp. Comprehensive tables for the private business and private nonfarm business sector 

can be downloaded at www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm, including data that links 1948-87 SIC data to 

NAICS data from 1987 forward. 
- 12 - 

Table 1. Private nonfarm business sector: productivity and related measures for the 1987-20201 period

Annual percent change from previous year 

Productivity Inputs 

Year 

Labor 

productivity2

Output 

per unit 

of 

capital 

services 

Multifactor 

Productivity3 

Valueadded 

output4 Labor5 

Capital 

Service6

Combined 

units of 

labor and 

capital 

services7

Capital 

Intensity8 

 

1988 1.7 0.8 1.0 4.6 3.4 3.8 3.5 0.9 

1989 0.9 -0.4 0.2 3.7 3.2 4.1 3.5 1.3 

 

1990 1.7 -1.9 0.1 1.5 0.4 3.4 1.4 3.7 

1991 1.8 -3.5 -0.4 -0.5 -1.6 3.1 -0.1 5.5 

1992 4.4 1.5 2.9 4.0 0.5 2.6 1.1 2.9 

1993 0.2 -0.3 -0.4 3.1 3.6 3.4 3.6 0.4 

1994 0.8 0.7 0.4 4.6 4.3 3.9 4.1 0.1 

1995 1.2 -1.0 0.2 3.5 2.7 4.5 3.3 2.2 

1996 2.1 -0.3 1.0 4.5 2.9 4.8 3.5 2.4 

1997 1.9 -0.3 0.9 5.1 3.5 5.4 4.2 2.1 

1998 3.1 -0.7 1.5 5.4 2.6 6.1 3.8 3.8 

1999 3.8 -0.7 2.1 5.7 2.1 6.5 3.5 4.6 

2000 3.3 -1.7 1.5 4.7 1.7 6.5 3.2 5.1 

2001 2.9 -3.9 0.5 0.9 -1.6 4.9 0.4 7.1 

2002 4.4 -1.6 2.0 1.7 -2.0 3.4 -0.3 6.2 

2003 3.9 0.4 2.3 3.3 -0.1 2.9 0.9 3.5 

2004 2.9 1.5 2.2 4.2 1.6 2.7 2.0 1.4 

 

2005 2.2 0.5 1.5 4.0 1.9 3.4 2.4 1.7 

2006 1.1 -0.2 0.5 3.5 2.6 3.7 3.0 1.4 

2007 1.8 -0.8 0.5 2.5 1.2 3.4 2.0 2.7 

2008 1.2 -3.8 -1.2 -1.0 -1.4 2.9 0.1 5.2 

2009 3.8 -4.7 0.2 -3.6 -6.6 1.1 -3.8 8.9 

 

2010 3.4 2.5 2.7 3.3 0.5 0.8 0.6 0.9 

2011 -0.1 0.3 -0.1 2.0 2.4 1.7 2.2 -0.4 

2012 0.8 1.2 0.7 3.2 2.7 2.0 2.4 -0.4 

2013 0.5 -0.2 0.1 2.3 2.0 2.5 2.2 0.8 

2014 0.8 0.4 0.6 3.2 2.5 2.8 2.6 0.5 

 

2015 1.6 0.7 1.1 3.8 2.4 3.1 2.6 0.9 

2016 0.4 -1.2 -0.4 1.8 1.7 3.0 2.2 1.6 

2017 1.2 0 0.5 2.8 1.9 2.7 2.2 1.2 

2018 1.5 0.6 0.9 3.5 2.4 2.8 2.6 0.8 

2019 

2020 

1.8 

2.5 

-0.5 

-6.4 

 0.7 

-1.7 

 2.5 

-4.2 

 1.0 

-5.2 

3.0 

2.4 

 1.8 

-2.5 

 2.3 

9.5 

 See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 
- 13 - 

Table 2. Private business sector: productivity and related measures for the 1987-20201 period

Annual percent change from previous year 

Productivity Inputs 

Year 

Labor 

productivity2

Output 

per unit 

of 

capital 

services 

Multifactor 

Productivity3

Valueadded 

output4 Labor5

Capital 

Services6

Combined 

units of 

labor and 

capital 

services7

Capital 

Intensity8 

 

1988 1.5 0.4 0.8 4.3 3.2 3.9 3.4 1.1

1989 1.1 -0.2 0.4 3.8 3.1 4.0 3.4 1.3

 

1990 2.0 -1.6 0.4 1.6 0.2 3.2 1.2 3.7

1991 1.7 -3.4 -0.5 -0.5 -1.5 2.9 -0.1 5.3

1992 4.6 1.8 3.1 4.2 0.5 2.4 1.1 2.8

1993 0.1 -0.4 -0.5 2.9 3.4 3.3 3.4 0.5

1994 0.6 1.0 0.4 4.8 4.7 3.8 4.4 -0.4

1995 0.8 -1.1 -0.1 3.1 2.7 4.3 3.2 1.9

1996 2.4 0.1 1.3 4.7 2.6 4.6 3.3 2.4

1997 2.1 0.0 1.2 5.2 3.4 5.2 4.0 2.1

1998 3.1 -0.7 1.6 5.2 2.5 5.9 3.6 3.8

1999 4.0 -0.6 2.3 5.7 1.9 6.3 3.4 4.6

2000 3.4 -1.4 1.6 4.8 1.7 6.3 3.2 4.9

2001 3.0 -3.8 0.5 0.8 -1.8 4.8 0.3 7.1

2002 4.4 -1.4 2.0 1.8 -1.9 3.2 -0.3 5.9

2003 4.0 0.5 2.5 3.3 -0.2 2.8 0.8 3.4

2004 3.0 1.5 2.3 4.3 1.5 2.8 2.0 1.5

 

2005 2.2 0.5 1.5 4.0 1.9 3.5 2.4 1.8

2006 1.2 -0.3 0.4 3.5 2.5 3.8 3.0 1.5

2007 1.7 -0.8 0.5 2.4 1.1 3.2 1.9 2.6

2008 1.1 -3.6 -1.1 -1.0 -1.4 2.7 0.1 4.9

2009 3.9 -4.4 0.3 -3.5 -6.5 1.0 -3.8 8.7

 

2010 3.4 2.5 2.7 3.3 0.5 0.8 0.6 0.9

2011 -0.1 0.1 -0.2 1.9 2.4 1.8 2.2 -0.3

2012 0.7 1.0 0.6 3.1 2.7 2.1 2.5 -0.3

2013 0.9 0.0 0.4 2.5 1.8 2.5 2.1 0.9

2014 0.7 0.4 0.5 3.2 2.6 2.7 2.7 0.3

 

2015 1.5 0.9 1.1 3.8 2.5 2.9 2.7 0.6

2016 0.4 -1.0 -0.3 1.9 1.7 2.9 2.2 1.4

2017 1.2 0.0 0.5 2.7 1.8 2.7 2.2 1.2

2018 1.6 0.7 1.0 3.5 2.3 2.8 2.5 0.9

2019 1.8 -0.5 0.7 2.5 1.0 3.0 1.8 2.2

2020 2.5 -6.4 -1.7 -4.1 -5.1 2.4 -2.4 9.5 

 See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 

 
- 14 - 

Table 3. Private nonfarm business sector: indexes of productivity and related measures, 1987-20201

Indexes 2012=100 

Productivity Inputs 

Year 

Labor 

productivity2

Output per unit 

of capital 

services 

Multifactor 

Productivity3

Valueadded 

output4 Labor5

Capital 

Services6

Combined units of 

labor and capital 

services7

Capital 

Intensity8 

 

1987 58.1 118.6 79.8 48.5 74.4 40.9 60.8 49.0 

1988 59.0 119.5 80.7 50.8 76.8 42.5 62.9 49.4 

1989 59.5 119.0 80.8 52.6 79.3 44.2 65.1 50.0 

 

1990 60.6 116.8 80.9 53.4 79.6 45.7 66.0 51.9 

1991 61.7 112.6 80.5 53.1 78.3 47.2 66.0 54.7 

1992 64.4 114.3 82.8 55.3 78.7 48.4 66.7 56.4 

1993 64.5 113.9 82.5 57.0 81.6 50.0 69.1 56.6 

1994 65.0 114.7 82.8 59.6 85.1 52.0 72.0 56.6 

1995 65.7 113.6 83.0 61.7 87.3 54.3 74.4 57.9 

1996 67.1 113.3 83.8 64.5 89.8 56.9 77.0 59.3 

1997 68.4 113.0 84.6 67.8 93.0 60.0 80.2 60.5 

1998 70.5 112.2 85.9 71.5 95.5 63.7 83.2 62.8 

1999 73.2 111.4 87.7 75.5 97.5 67.8 86.1 65.7 

2000 75.6 109.5 89.0 79.1 99.1 72.2 88.9 69.0 

2001 77.8 105.3 89.4 79.8 97.5 75.8 89.3 73.9 

2002 81.3 103.6 91.2 81.2 95.5 78.4 89.0 78.5 

2003 84.4 104.0 93.4 83.9 95.5 80.7 89.8 81.2 

2004 86.8 105.5 95.4 87.4 97.0 82.9 91.6 82.3 

 

2005 88.7 106.0 96.8 90.9 98.8 85.7 93.8 83.7 

2006 89.7 105.8 97.3 94.1 101.4 88.9 96.7 84.8 

2007 91.4 104.9 97.8 96.4 102.7 91.9 98.6 87.1 

2008 92.4 100.9 96.7 95.4 101.2 94.6 98.7 91.6 

2009 96.0 96.1 96.8 92.0 94.6 95.7 95.0 99.8 

 

2010 99.3 98.6 99.4 95.0 95.0 96.4 95.6 100.7 

2011 99.2 98.8 99.3 96.9 97.3 98.1 97.6 100.4 

2012 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

2013 100.5 99.8 100.1 102.3 102.0 102.5 102.2 100.8 

2014 101.4 100.1 100.6 105.5 104.6 105.4 104.9 101.2 

 

2015 103.0 100.8 101.8 109.5 107.1 108.6 107.7 102.1 

2016 103.4 99.6 101.4 111.5 108.9 111.9 110.1 103.7 

2017 104.6 99.7 101.9 114.6 111.0 115.0 112.5 104.9 

2018 106.1 100.3 102.8 118.6 113.6 118.3 115.4 105.8 

2019

2020

108.0 

110.7 

 99.8 

93.4 

103.6 

101.8 

121.6 

116.5 

114.8 

108.8 

121.9 

124.8 

117.4 

114.5 

108.3 

118.6 

See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 
- 15 - 

Table 4. Private business sector: indexes of productivity and related measures, 1987-20201

Indexes 2012=100 

Productivity Inputs 

Year 

Labor 

productivity2

Output per unit 

of capital 

services 

Multifactor 

Productivity3

Valueadded 

output4 Labor5

Capital 

Services6

Combined units of 

labor and capital 

services7 Capital 

Intensity8 

 

1987 57.5 115.8 78.9 48.6 75.2 42.0 61.6 49.6

1988 58.4 116.3 79.6 50.7 77.6 43.6 63.7 50.2

1989 59.0 116.1 79.9 52.7 80.0 45.4 65.9 50.8

 

1990 60.2 114.2 80.2 53.5 80.2 46.8 66.7 52.7

1991 61.3 110.4 79.8 53.2 78.9 48.2 66.7 55.5

1992 64.1 112.4 82.3 55.5 79.3 49.4 67.4 57.1

1993 64.2 111.9 81.9 57.1 82.0 51.0 69.7 57.3

1994 64.6 113.1 82.3 59.8 85.9 52.9 72.7 57.1

1995 65.1 111.8 82.2 61.7 88.2 55.2 75.1 58.2

1996 66.7 111.8 83.3 64.6 90.5 57.7 77.6 59.6

1997 68.1 111.8 84.2 67.9 93.6 60.8 80.7 60.9

1998 70.2 111.1 85.5 71.5 95.9 64.4 83.6 63.2

1999 73.0 110.5 87.5 75.6 97.8 68.4 86.4 66.1

2000 75.5 108.9 88.9 79.2 99.4 72.8 89.2 69.4

2001 77.8 104.8 89.3 79.9 97.7 76.2 89.4 74.3

2002 81.2 103.3 91.1 81.3 95.8 78.7 89.2 78.6

2003 84.5 103.8 93.4 84.0 95.6 80.9 89.9 81.3

2004 87.0 105.4 95.6 87.6 97.1 83.1 91.7 82.5

 

2005 88.9 105.9 97.0 91.1 98.9 86.0 93.9 84.0

2006 90.0 105.6 97.4 94.3 101.4 89.3 96.7 85.2

2007 91.5 104.7 97.9 96.5 102.6 92.2 98.6 87.4

2008 92.6 100.9 96.8 95.5 101.2 94.6 98.7 91.7

2009 96.2 96.5 97.1 92.2 94.6 95.5 95.0 99.7

 

2010 99.4 98.9 99.7 95.2 95.1 96.3 95.5 100.6

2011 99.3 99.0 99.4 97.0 97.4 98.0 97.6 100.3

2012 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2013 100.9 100.0 100.4 102.5 101.8 102.5 102.1 100.9

2014 101.6 100.4 100.9 105.7 104.5 105.3 104.8 101.2

 

2015 103.1 101.3 102.0 109.8 107.1 108.4 107.6 101.8

2016 103.6 100.2 101.7 111.8 109.0 111.6 110.0 103.3

2017 104.8 100.2 102.2 114.9 111.0 114.6 112.4 104.5

2018 106.5 100.9 103.2 118.9 113.5 117.8 115.2 105.5

2019

2020

108.3 

111.0 

100.4 

94.0 

104.0 

102.2 

121.9 

116.8

114.7 

108.8 

121.3 

124.3 

117.2 

114.4 

107.9 

118.1 

See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
- 16 - 

Footnotes, Tables 1-4

Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) develops productivity measures using output and compensation 

data published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), hours data published by other BLS programs, and 

capital data supplied by BEA and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Also see Technical Notes in this release. 

(1) The private business sector covers gross domestic product with the exception of the output of general 

government, government enterprises, non-profit institutions, the rental value of owner-occupied real 

estate, and the output of paid employees of private households. The private nonfarm business sector 

further excludes farms but includes agricultural services. 

(2) Output per hour worked. 

(3) Output per combined units of labor input and capital services. 

(4) Gross domestic product originating in the sector, chained superlative index. 

(5) Index of hours worked of all persons including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers, 

classified by age, education, and gender. This chained superlative index is computed by combining 

changes in the hours of each age, education, and gender group weighted by each group’s share of total 

wages. 

(6) A measure of the flow of capital services used in the sector. Capital services measure the services derived 

from the stock of physical assets and intellectual property products. 

(7) The growth rates of labor input and capital services are combined by weighting with their respective 

shares of current dollar costs as weights, and aggregating into a chained superlative index. 

(8) Capital services per hour.