For release 10:00 am (EDT) Tuesday, June 23, 2015 USDL-15-1235

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

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

PRELIMINARY MULTIFACTOR PRODUCTIVITY TRENDS – 2014 

Private nonfarm business sector multifactor productivity increased at a 0.8 percent annual rate in 2014, the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1, table A.) This 2014 gain reflected a 3.1-percent 

increase in output and a 2.3-percent increase in the combined inputs of capital and labor. Capital services grew by 

2.1 percent and labor input – which is the combined effect of hours worked and labor composition – grew by 2.4 

percent. The 2.1-percent increase in capital services was the largest annual increase since a 2.6-percent increase in 

2008. Capital services per hour of all persons continued on a steady decline of 0.1 percent in 2014; the fourth 

consecutive decline in this measure. (See table 1.)

Multifactor productivity measures the change in output relative to the change in capital and labor inputs used to 

produce that output. It is designed to measure the joint influences of technological change, efficiency 

improvements, returns to scale, reallocation of resources, and other factors of economic growth, accounting for 

the effects of capital and labor. Multifactor productivity annual measures differ from BLS quarterly labor 

productivity (output per hour worked) measures because the former also include the influences of capital services 

and shifts in the composition of the workforce. Additionally, much of the source data needed to construct 

multifactor productivity measures are not available on a quarterly basis.

Private business sector multifactor productivity grew by 0.6 percent in 2014. A 2.9-percent increase in output 

and a 2.3-percent increase in the combined inputs of capital and labor contributed to the multifactor productivity 

gain in 2014. (See table A, table 2.)

 

Chart 1. Output per hour of all persons, multifactor productivity, and output per unit of capital services in 

the private nonfarm business sector, 2000-2014 

 

 Annual percent change

-6.0

-4.0

-2.0

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Output per hour of all persons Multifactor productivity Output per unit of capital services
- 2 - 

Historical trends in the private nonfarm business sector

Multifactor productivity in the private nonfarm business sector grew 0.9 percent annually from 1987 to 2014. For

the 2007-2014 period, multifactor productivity grew 0.5 percent on average as combined inputs increased 0.7 

percent and output increased 1.3 percent. The increase in combined inputs reflected an increase in labor input of 

0.3 percent along with a 1.5-percent increase in capital services. (See table A, table 1.) 

Annual 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 labor composition. Prior to 1995, multifactor 

productivity and the contributions of capital intensity to labor productivity grew 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent 

respectively. The contribution of labor composition grew 0.4 percent, leading to an average annual growth rate of 

1.6 percent in output per hour. 

The contributions to labor productivity growth differed from the 1995-2000 and 2000-2007 periods, as upward 

shifts in multifactor productivity and capital intensity resulted in stronger output per hour growth. For the 2007-

2014 period, the contribution of capital intensity and the contribution of labor composition amounted to 0.6

percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Additionally, the growth in multifactor productivity of 0.5 percent 

contributed to an overall growth of output per hour of 1.4 percent. (See chart 2, table B.) 

In 2014, annual labor productivity growth was less than half the average annual rate of change from 1987 to 2014 

for the fourth consecutive year. The contributions of capital intensity and labor composition in the private 

nonfarm business sector in 2014 were little changed. The main component of the 0.8-percent increase in output 

per hour was the 0.8-percent increase in multifactor productivity. (See table B, table 1.) 

The methodology for measuring preliminary multifactor productivity for 2014 is a simplified version of the

methodology that BLS uses when more detailed data are available. Measures will be revised early in the next 

calendar year.

Chart 2. Percentage point contributions to growth in output per hour in the private nonfarm business 

sector, 1987-2014 

 Percentage point

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

output per hour due to independent rounding. 

0.8 0.7 0.7

1.2 1.0

0.6

0.3 0.4 0.4

0.2

0.2

0.3

0.9

0.5 0.5

1.4

1.4

0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

1987-2014 1987-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000 2000-2007 2007-2014

Contribution of capital intensity Contribution of labor composition Multifactor productivity
- 3 - 

Table A. Compound annual growth rates for productivity, output, and inputs in the private nonfarm 

business and private business sectors for selected periods, 1987-2014 

Percent

1987-

2014

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2014

2013-

2014

Private nonfarm business1

Productivity

 Multifactor Productivity2 0.9 0.5 0.5 1.4 1.4 0.5 0.8

 Output per hour of all persons 2.1 1.6 1.6 2.9 2.6 1.4 0.8

 Output per unit of capital services -0.4 -0.5 -0.4 -0.8 -0.4 -0.2 0.9

Output 2.9 3.3 3.0 5.0 2.8 1.3 3.1

Inputs

 

 Combined inputs3 2.0 2.8 2.4 3.6 1.4 0.7 2.3

 Labor Input4 1.3 2.3 2.0 2.4 0.5 0.3 2.4

 Hours 0.8 1.7 1.3 2.1 0.2 -0.2 2.2

 Labor composition5 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.2

 Capital services 3.4 3.8 3.4 5.9 3.3 1.5 2.1

Analytic ratio

 Capital services per hour of all 

 persons 2.5 2.1 2.0 3.7 3.1 1.6 -0.1

Private business1

Productivity

 Multifactor Productivity2 1.0 0.6 0.5 1.6 1.4 0.5 0.6

 Output per hour of all persons 2.1 1.7 1.6 3.0 2.7 1.4 0.6

 Output per unit of capital services -0.4 -0.5 -0.3 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.8

Output 2.9 3.3 2.9 5.1 2.8 1.3 2.9

Inputs

 

 Combined inputs3 1.9 2.7 2.4 3.4 1.4 0.7 2.3

 Labor Input4 1.2 2.1 2.1 2.3 0.5 0.3 2.4

 Hours 0.8 1.5 1.4 2.0 0.1 -0.1 2.3

 Labor composition5 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.1

 Capital services 3.3 3.8 3.2 5.7 3.2 1.4 2.1

Analytic ratio

 Capital services per hour of all 

 persons 2.5 2.2 1.8 3.7 3.1 1.6 -0.2

1 Excludes government enterprises. 

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

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

4 Hours at work by age, education, and gender group are weighted by each group’s share of total wages. 

5 Ratio of labor input to hours.
- 4 - 

Table B. Compound annual growth rates in output per hour of all persons and the contribution of capital 

intensity, labor composition, and multifactor productivity in the private nonfarm business and private 

business sectors for selected periods, 1987-2014

Percent

1987-

2014

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2014

2013-

2014

Private nonfarm business1

Output per hour of all persons 2.1 1.6 1.6 2.9 2.6 1.4 0.8

 Contribution of capital 

 intensity2 0.8 0.7 0.7 1.2 1.0 0.6 0.0

 Contribution of labor 

 composition3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1

 Multifactor productivity4 0.9 0.5 0.5 1.4 1.4 0.5 0.8

Private business1

Output per hour of all persons 2.1 1.7 1.6 3.0 2.7 1.4 0.6

 Contribution of capital 

 intensity2 0.8 0.7 0.6 1.2 1.0 0.6 -0.1

 Contribution of labor 

 composition3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1

 Multifactor productivity4 1.0 0.6 0.5 1.6 1.4 0.5 0.6

 1 Excludes government enterprises. 

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

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

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

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

output per hour due to independent rounding. 
- 5 - 

Technical Notes

The simplified methodology for preparing preliminary estimates of MFP is outlined in the June 2005 

Monthly Labor Review article, “Preliminary estimates of multifactor productivity growth” located at 

http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/06/art3full.pdf. This methodology is applied to both the private 

nonfarm business and private business sectors and measures are calculated only for the most recent year.

Data for all previous years are identical to the March 26, 2015 “Multifactor Productivity Trends” news 

release (USDL-15-0480).

Capital Services 

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

assets. Capital services measures constructed for the preliminary MFP measures are based on less detail 

only for the most recent year. The preliminary measures consist of six 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 preliminary estimates 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. 

Labor Input 

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

Tornqvist aggregation of the hours at work by all persons, classified by age, education, and gender with 

weights determined by each group’s share of total wages. The labor composition index estimates the 

effect of shifts in the age, education, and gender composition of the work force on the efficiency of 

hours worked. The preliminary estimates of 2014 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 February 5, 2015 “Productivity and Costs” news release (USDL14-0157). 

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

found in Cindy Zoghi, 2007, “Measuring Labor Composition: A Comparison of Alternate 

Methodologies” http://www.bls.gov/bls/fesacp1121407.pdf and in “Changes in the Composition of 

Labor for BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2013” http://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 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.

 
- 6 - 

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 is. 

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 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 http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. 

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. The private business sector accounted for 

approximately 74 percent of gross domestic product in 2013. 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 Cost 

series include them. The output measures are based on the National Income and Product Accounts 

(NIPA) data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on January 30, 2015 but do not reflect 

the revised data released by BEA on February 27, 2015. The preliminary estimates of 2015 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 February 5, 2015 “Productivity and 

Costs” news release (USDL-15-0157). 

 

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 capital services and labor input. The output indexes are 

computed as chained superlative indexes (Fisher Ideal indexes) of components of real output.
- 7 - 

Table 1. Private nonfarm business sector: productivity and related measures for the 1987-20141 period

Annual percent change from previous year

Productivity Inputs

Year

Output 

per hour 

of all 

persons

Output 

per unit 

of 

capital

services

Multifactor 

Productivity2 Output3

Labor

Input4

Capital

Services5

Combined 

units of 

labor input 

and 

capital

services6

Capital 

services

per hour 

of all 

persons

1988 1.7 0.7 1.0 4.6 3.5 3.8 3.6 0.9

1989 0.9 -0.3 0.1 3.7 3.4 4.1 3.6 1.2

1990 2.1 -1.8 0.4 1.5 0.0 3.5 1.1 4.0

1991 2.0 -3.5 -0.8 -0.5 -1.1 3.0 0.2 5.7

1992 4.3 1.5 2.5 4.1 1.0 2.5 1.5 2.7

1993 0.2 -0.1 -0.1 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.3 0.3

1994 1.0 1.0 0.7 4.7 4.1 3.6 4.0 0.0

1995 0.8 -0.8 0.3 3.6 2.6 4.4 3.2 1.6

1996 2.7 -0.2 1.5 4.6 2.1 4.8 3.0 2.9

1997 1.6 -0.2 0.7 5.3 4.1 5.5 4.5 1.8

1998 3.1 -0.8 1.7 5.3 2.4 6.2 3.6 4.0

1999 3.4 -1.0 1.7 5.6 2.5 6.7 3.8 4.4

2000 3.4 -2.0 1.5 4.4 1.1 6.5 2.8 5.5

2001 3.0 -3.7 0.5 0.9 -1.6 4.8 0.3 7.0

2002 4.3 -1.5 2.0 1.8 -1.8 3.3 -0.2 5.9

2003 3.5 0.4 2.3 3.2 -0.1 2.7 0.8 3.1

2004 3.0 2.0 2.7 4.5 1.3 2.5 1.7 1.0

2005 1.9 0.6 1.3 3.8 2.1 3.2 2.4 1.3

2006 0.9 -0.2 0.3 3.3 2.7 3.5 3.0 1.1

2007 1.7 -0.7 0.4 2.4 1.4 3.1 2.0 2.4

2008 0.8 -3.8 -1.3 -1.3 -1.4 2.6 0.0 4.8

2009 3.4 -4.9 -0.2 -4.1 -6.5 0.9 -3.9 8.8

2010 3.2 2.8 2.8 3.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4

2011 0.0 1.1 0.0 2.2 2.9 1.1 2.3 -1.1

2012 0.9 1.8 0.8 3.3 3.0 1.5 2.4 -0.8

2013 0.9 1.0 0.9 2.7 1.8 1.7 1.8 -0.1

2014 0.8 0.9 0.8 3.1 2.4 2.1 2.3 -0.1

 See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
- 8 - 

Table 2. Private business sector: productivity and related measures for the 1987-20141 period

Annual percent change from previous year

Productivity Inputs

Year

Output 

per hour 

of all 

persons

Output 

per unit 

of 

capital

services

Multifactor 

Productivity2 Output3

Labor

Input4

Capital

Services5

Combined 

units of 

labor input 

and 

capital

services6

Capital 

services 

per hour 

of all 

persons

1988 1.5 0.3 0.7 4.3 3.4 4.0 3.6 1.2

1989 1.1 -0.2 0.3 3.9 3.3 4.0 3.5 1.3

1990 2.4 -1.6 0.7 1.6 -0.2 3.3 1.0 4.1

1991 1.9 -3.3 -0.8 -0.5 -1.0 2.9 0.3 5.4

1992 4.5 1.9 2.8 4.3 1.0 2.4 1.5 2.5

1993 0.2 -0.2 -0.2 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.1 0.4

1994 0.9 1.3 0.7 4.9 4.5 3.5 4.2 -0.5

1995 0.4 -0.9 0.0 3.2 2.6 4.1 3.1 1.4

1996 3.1 0.1 1.8 4.7 1.9 4.5 2.8 2.9

1997 1.9 0.1 0.9 5.3 3.9 5.3 4.4 1.8

1998 3.2 -0.8 1.6 5.2 2.2 6.0 3.5 4.0

1999 3.6 -0.8 1.9 5.6 2.3 6.5 3.6 4.4

2000 3.6 -1.7 1.7 4.5 1.1 6.3 2.8 5.3

2001 3.1 -3.7 0.6 0.8 -1.8 4.6 0.2 7.0

2002 4.2 -1.3 2.0 1.8 -1.8 3.1 -0.2 5.6

2003 3.7 0.6 2.5 3.2 -0.2 2.6 0.7 3.1

2004 3.1 2.0 2.8 4.5 1.2 2.5 1.7 1.2

2005 2.0 0.6 1.3 3.8 2.0 3.2 2.5 1.4

2006 1.0 -0.3 0.3 3.2 2.5 3.5 2.9 1.2

2007 1.5 -0.8 0.3 2.2 1.3 3.0 1.9 2.3

2008 0.8 -3.6 -1.2 -1.2 -1.3 2.5 0.0 4.5

2009 3.5 -4.6 0.0 -3.9 -6.5 0.7 -3.9 8.5

2010 3.2 2.8 2.7 3.2 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4

2011 -0.1 0.9 -0.1 2.1 2.9 1.3 2.3 -0.9

2012 0.8 1.6 0.7 3.2 2.9 1.5 2.4 -0.8

2013 1.2 1.2 1.1 2.9 1.7 1.7 1.7 0.0

2014 0.6 0.8 0.6 2.9 2.4 2.1 2.3 -0.2

 See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
- 9 - 

Table 3. Private nonfarm business sector: indexes of productivity and related measures, 1987-20141

Indexes 2009=100

Productivity Inputs

Year

Output 

per hour 

of all 

persons

Output 

per unit 

of 

capital

services

Multifactor 

Productivity2 Output3

Labor

Input4

Capital

Services5

Combined 

units of 

labor input 

and 

capital

services6

Capital 

services 

per hour 

of all 

persons

1987 61.2 121.7 82.6 53.4 78.5 43.8 64.6 50.3

1988 62.2 122.6 83.4 55.8 81.2 45.5 66.9 50.7

1989 62.7 122.2 83.5 57.9 84.0 47.4 69.3 51.3

1990 64.1 119.9 83.8 58.8 83.9 49.0 70.1 53.4

1991 65.3 115.7 83.2 58.4 83.0 50.5 70.3 56.4

1992 68.1 117.5 85.3 60.8 83.9 51.8 71.3 58.0

1993 68.3 117.4 85.2 62.8 86.7 53.5 73.7 58.1

1994 69.0 118.6 85.8 65.7 90.3 55.4 76.6 58.1

1995 69.5 117.7 86.1 68.1 92.7 57.8 79.1 59.0

1996 71.4 117.5 87.3 71.2 94.6 60.6 81.5 60.8

1997 72.6 117.3 87.9 74.9 98.5 63.9 85.2 61.9

1998 74.9 116.3 89.4 78.9 100.8 67.9 88.3 64.4

1999 77.4 115.1 90.9 83.3 103.4 72.4 91.7 67.2

2000 80.0 112.8 92.3 87.0 104.5 77.1 94.2 70.9

2001 82.5 108.6 92.8 87.7 102.8 80.7 94.5 75.9

2002 86.0 107.0 94.7 89.3 100.9 83.4 94.3 80.4

2003 89.1 107.5 96.9 92.1 100.8 85.7 95.1 82.8

2004 91.7 109.6 99.5 96.2 102.1 87.8 96.7 83.7

2005 93.5 110.3 100.9 99.9 104.2 90.6 99.0 84.8

2006 94.3 110.1 101.2 103.2 107.0 93.7 102.0 85.7

2007 95.9 109.4 101.6 105.6 108.5 96.6 104.0 87.7

2008 96.7 105.2 100.2 104.3 106.9 99.1 104.0 91.9

2009 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2010 103.2 102.8 102.8 103.2 100.4 100.4 100.4 100.4

2011 103.2 103.9 102.8 105.5 103.3 101.5 102.7 99.3

2012 104.2 105.8 103.7 109.0 106.4 103.1 105.2 98.5

2013 105.1 106.8 104.6 111.9 108.4 104.8 107.0 98.4

2014 105.9 107.8 105.4 115.4 111.0 107.1 109.5 98.3

See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
- 10 - 

Table 4. Private business sector: indexes of productivity and related measures, 1987-20141

Indexes 2009=100

Productivity Inputs

Year

Output 

per hour 

of all 

persons

Output 

per unit 

of 

capital 

services

Multifactor 

Productivity2 Output3

Labor

Input4

Capital

Services5

Combined 

units of 

labor input 

and 

capital

services6

Capital 

services 

per hour 

of all 

persons

1987 60.3 118.6 81.4 53.3 79.5 44.9 65.4 50.9

1988 61.3 119.0 82.0 55.6 82.2 46.7 67.8 51.5

1989 62.0 118.8 82.3 57.7 84.8 48.6 70.2 52.2

1990 63.5 116.9 82.8 58.7 84.6 50.2 70.8 54.3

1991 64.7 113.0 82.1 58.3 83.8 51.6 71.1 57.2

1992 67.6 115.1 84.4 60.8 84.7 52.8 72.1 58.7

1993 67.7 114.9 84.2 62.6 87.3 54.5 74.4 58.9

1994 68.3 116.5 84.8 65.7 91.3 56.4 77.5 58.6

1995 68.6 115.4 84.8 67.8 93.7 58.8 79.9 59.4

1996 70.7 115.6 86.4 71.0 95.5 61.4 82.2 61.2

1997 72.0 115.6 87.2 74.8 99.3 64.7 85.8 62.3

1998 74.3 114.7 88.6 78.7 101.5 68.6 88.8 64.8

1999 77.0 113.8 90.3 83.1 103.8 73.0 92.0 67.6

2000 79.7 111.9 91.8 86.8 105.0 77.6 94.6 71.2

2001 82.2 107.8 92.3 87.5 103.1 81.2 94.8 76.2

2002 85.7 106.4 94.2 89.1 101.2 83.7 94.5 80.5

2003 88.8 107.1 96.6 91.9 101.0 85.9 95.2 83.0

2004 91.6 109.2 99.3 96.1 102.3 88.0 96.8 83.9

2005 93.4 109.8 100.6 99.8 104.4 90.9 99.2 85.1

2006 94.3 109.5 101.0 103.1 107.0 94.1 102.1 86.1

2007 95.8 108.7 101.2 105.3 108.4 96.9 104.0 88.1

2008 96.6 104.8 100.0 104.1 106.9 99.3 104.0 92.1

2009 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2010 103.2 102.8 102.7 103.2 100.5 100.4 100.5 100.4

2011 103.1 103.7 102.6 105.4 103.4 101.6 102.8 99.4

2012 103.9 105.4 103.3 108.7 106.5 103.2 105.2 98.7

2013 105.2 106.6 104.5 111.8 108.3 104.9 107.0 98.7

2014 105.8 107.4 105.2 115.1 111.0 107.1 109.5 98.4

See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
- 11 - 

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 owneroccupied 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 combined units of labor input and capital services. 

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

(4) Index of hours at work 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. 

(5) 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 assets. 

(6) The growth rates of labor input and capital services are combined using their respective shares of 

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