For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, March 24, 2016 USDL- 16-0612

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

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

(Note: The Bureau of Labor Statistics identified an error in the estimates of the contribution of intellectual property 

products (IPP) excluding research and development (R&D) to labor productivity and the contribution of capital 

services excluding information processing equipment (IPE) & IPP to labor productivity. This error affects Table B 

of Multifactor Productivity Trends – 2014. No other measures besides the measures listed above were affected by 

this error. The data in this release will not be corrected. For more information, please visit 

www.bls.gov/bls/errata/productivity-correction-11082017.htm.)

MULTIFACTOR PRODUCTIVITY TRENDS – 2014

Private nonfarm business sector multifactor productivity increased at a 0.7 percent annual rate in 2014, the U.S. 

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

increase in output and a 2.4-percent increase in the combined inputs of capital and labor. Capital services grew by 

2.1 percent, the largest gain since 2008, and labor input – which is the combined effect of hours worked and labor 

composition – grew 2.5 percent. Capital intensity, defined as capital services per hour, decreased at a rate of 0.3

percent in 2014 after no change in 2013. Capital intensity decreased three of the last four years, the only declines in 

this measure which began in 1987, indicating that capital is no longer keeping pace with labor. (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 increased at a 0.7 percent annual rate in 2014, reflecting a 3.1-

percent increase in output and a 2.4-percent increase in the combined inputs of capital and labor. (See table 2 and 

table A.)

Chart 1. Multifactor productivity, labor productivity, and output per unit of capital services in the private

nonfarm business sector, 2008-2014

 

 Annual Percent Change

-6.0

-4.0

-2.0

0.0

2.0

4.0

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Multifactor productivity Labor 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,

reflecting a 2.9-percent growth in output and a 1.9-percent growth in combined inputs. (See table A.) For the more 

recent 2007-2014 period, multifactor productivity grew 0.4 percent, due to a 1.1-percent increase in output coupled 

with a 0.7-percent increase in combined inputs. The increase in combined inputs reflected a 1.4-percent increase in 

capital services, a 0.1-percent decline in hours, and a 0.4-percent increase in labor composition. (See table A.)

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. For the 2007-2014 period, 

multifactor productivity and the contribution of capital intensity to labor productivity grew 0.4 percent and 0.6

percent, respectively. (See chart 2 and table B.) The contributions to labor productivity have decelerated from the 

1995-2000 and 2000-2007 periods, due to multifactor productivity and the contribution of capital intensity 

returning to pre-1995 levels.

Information processing equipment (IPE) and intellectual property products (IPP) showed the strongest growth 

among the various capital asset components from 1987 to 2014. For the 2007-2014 period, real capital services of 

IPE grew 4.2 percent annually and IPP grew 2.9 percent annually in the private nonfarm business sector. (See table 

5.) Both IPE and IPP have experienced a steady deceleration in growth from their peak in 1995-2000; in the 1995-

2000 period IPE grew 18.4 percent and IPP grew 8.4 percent.

Revisions

The revised multifactor productivity measure for 2014 is based on more recent source data than were available for 

the preliminary multifactor productivity release, published on June 23, 2015,

www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/prod3_06232015.pdf.

Multifactor productivity growth rates in the private nonfarm business sector were revised from 0.8 percent to 0.7

percent in 2014, and from 0.9 percent to -0.1 percent in 2013 due primarily to a revision to output. (See table C.)

Chart 2. Contributions to labor productivity growth 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 0.6

1.2 1.0

0.6

0.3 0.2 0.5

0.2

0.2

0.3

0.9

0.7 0.5

1.5

1.4

0.4

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

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

selected periods, 1987-2014

Compound annual growth rates

1987-

2014

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2014

2013-

2014

Private nonfarm business1

Productivity

Multifactor Productivity2 0.9 0.7 0.5 1.5 1.4 0.4 0.7

Labor productivity3 2.0 1.6 1.6 2.9 2.6 1.2 0.7

Output per unit of capital services -0.4 -0.5 -0.3 -0.8 -0.4 -0.3 1.0

Output 2.9 3.3 3.0 5.0 2.8 1.1 3.1

Combined inputs4 1.9 2.6 2.4 3.5 1.4 0.7 2.4

 Labor Input5 1.3 2.0 2.0 2.4 0.6 0.3 2.5

 Hours 0.8 1.7 1.3 2.1 0.2 -0.1 2.4

 Labor composition6 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.1

 Capital services 3.3 3.8 3.3 5.9 3.2 1.4 2.1

Analytic ratio

Capital intensity7 2.5 2.0 2.0 3.7 3.0 1.6 -0.3

Private business1

Productivity

Multifactor Productivity2 1.0 0.8 0.5 1.6 1.4 0.4 0.7

Labor productivity3 2.1 1.7 1.6 3.0 2.7 1.3 0.6

Output per unit of capital services -0.4 -0.4 -0.2 -0.6 -0.4 -0.3 1.0

Output 2.9 3.3 2.9 5.1 2.8 1.2 3.1

 Combined inputs4 1.9 2.5 2.4 3.4 1.4 0.7 2.4

 Labor Input5 1.2 1.9 2.1 2.3 0.5 0.3 2.6

 Hours 0.8 1.5 1.4 2.0 0.1 -0.1 2.5

 Labor composition6 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.1

 Capital services 3.2 3.7 3.2 5.7 3.2 1.4 2.0

Analytic ratio

Capital intensity7 2.4 2.1 1.8 3.7 3.0 1.5 -0.5

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 at work by age, education, and gender group are weighted by each group’s share of the total wage bill.

6 Ratio of labor input to hours.

7 Capital services per hour.
4

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

productivity to labor productivity in the private nonfarm business and private business sectors for

selected periods, 1987-2014

Compound annual growth rates

1987-

2014

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2014

2013-

2014

Private nonfarm business1

Labor productivity2 2.0 1.6 1.6 2.9 2.6 1.2 0.7

Contribution of capital intensity3 0.8 0.7 0.6 1.2 1.0 0.6 -0.1

Contribution of information

processing equipment4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.0

Contribution of research 

and development5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0

Contribution of all other

intellectual property

products6

0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 -0.1 0.1 0.1

Contribution of all other

capital services 0.2 0.1 -0.1 0.1 0.7 0.2 -0.3

Contribution of labor composition7 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1

Multifactor productivity8 0.9 0.7 0.5 1.5 1.4 0.4 0.7

Contribution of R&D to

multifactor productivity 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1

Private business1

Labor productivity2 2.1 1.7 1.6 3.0 2.7 1.3 0.6

Contribution of capital intensity3 0.8 0.7 0.6 1.2 1.0 0.6 -0.2

Contribution of information

processing equipment4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.0

Contribution of research 

and development5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0

Contribution of all other

intellectual property

products6

0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 -0.1 0.1 0.1

Contribution of all other

capital services 0.3 0.1 -0.1 0.1 0.7 0.2 -0.3

Contribution of labor composition7 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1

Multifactor productivity8 1.0 0.8 0.5 1.6 1.4 0.4 0.7

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.

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

independent rounding. Contributions of information processing equipment and all other capital services may not sum to the contribution of 

capital intensity due to independent rounding.
5

Table C. Multifactor productivity measures in the private nonfarm business and private business sectors for

the 1987-2014 period, previous and revised

Annual percent change from previous year

Year

Private Nonfarm Business Private Business

Previous Revised Previous Revised

1988 1.0 1.2 0.7 1.0

1989 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

1990 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.9

1991 -0.8 -0.4 -0.8 -0.5

1992 2.5 3.2 2.8 3.3

1993 -0.1 -0.3 -0.2 -0.4

1994 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.6

1995 0.3 -0.2 0.0 -0.5

1996 1.5 1.6 1.8 1.9

1997 0.7 0.9 0.9 1.2

1998 1.7 1.2 1.6 1.3

1999 1.7 1.9 1.9 2.1

2000 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.7

2001 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5

2002 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.1

2003 2.3 2.2 2.5 2.4

2004 2.7 2.5 2.8 2.5

2005 1.3 1.5 1.3 1.5

2006 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

2007 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.5

2008 -1.3 -1.3 -1.2 -1.2

2009 -0.2 -0.3 0.0 -0.2

2010 2.8 2.9 2.7 2.9

2011 0.0 0.2 -0.1 0.1

2012 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.6

2013 0.9 -0.1 1.1 0.2

2014 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.7
6

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 BEA. Data on

inventories are estimated using BEA and additional information from IRS Corporation Income Returns.

Data for land in the farm sector are obtained from 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.

BLS provides additional detail in tables 5 and 6 on information processing equipment and intellectual 

property products. 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, custom, and own-account software. 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. Artistic originals include theatrical movies, long-lived 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 60 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.
7

Labor Input

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

Tornqvist aggregation of the hours at work, 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 program (CES). These hours paid are then converted to an at 

work basis by using information from the Employment Cost Index (ECI) of the National Compensation

Survey (NCS) benchmarked to the Hours at Work Survey. Hours at work for nonproduction and

supervisory workers are derived using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the CES, and the

NCS. The hours at work of proprietors, unpaid family workers, and farm employees are derived from 

the Current Population Survey. Hours at work data reflect Productivity and Costs data as of the February 

4, 2016 “Productivity and Costs” news release (USDL-16-0209). 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. 

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, 2014” http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprlabor.pdf. 

Combined Inputs

Labor input and capital services are combined using a 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.

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 if the price of one factor falls relative to the price of the other factor; there would be 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 http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm.
8

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. The private business sector accounted for

approximately 74 percent of gross domestic product in 2014. Additionally, the private nonfarm business

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

measures exclude government enterprises, while the BLS quarterly Productivity and Cost series include 

them. The output measures are based on the revised National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) data

released by BEA on January 29, 2016.

Multifactor Productivity

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

combined 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.

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."

http://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 http://www.bls.gov/mfp/rdtable.pdf .
9

Other Information

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

upon request at 202-691-5606 or at http://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”

http://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 at http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprtech.pdf. General

information is available on the BLS Multifactor Productivity website at

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

print or at http://www.bls.gov/mfp. A number of comprehensive tables set up as zip files can be

downloaded at http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. Included in the additional data available in the

home page is a zip file containing selected multifactor productivity data that links 1948- 87 SIC data to 

NAICS data from 1987 forward. This file includes data for the private business and private nonfarm

business sector. 
10

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

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 1.7 0.8 1.2 4.6 3.2 3.8 3.4 0.9

1989 0.9 -0.3 0.2 3.7 3.2 4.0 3.5 1.2

1990 2.1 -1.8 0.6 1.5 -0.3 3.4 0.9 4.0

1991 2.0 -3.4 -0.4 -0.5 -1.5 3.0 -0.1 5.6

1992 4.3 1.6 3.2 4.1 0.2 2.5 0.9 2.7

1993 0.2 0.0 -0.3 3.2 3.7 3.2 3.5 0.2

1994 1.0 1.0 0.6 4.7 4.3 3.6 4.1 0.0

1995 0.8 -0.8 -0.2 3.6 3.5 4.4 3.8 1.6

1996 2.7 -0.2 1.6 4.6 2.0 4.8 2.9 3.0

1997 1.6 -0.2 0.9 5.3 3.7 5.5 4.3 1.9

1998 3.1 -0.8 1.2 5.3 3.0 6.2 4.0 4.0

1999 3.4 -0.9 1.9 5.6 2.2 6.5 3.6 4.3

2000 3.4 -1.9 1.6 4.4 1.1 6.4 2.7 5.4

2001 3.0 -3.7 0.5 0.9 -1.5 4.7 0.4 7.0

2002 4.3 -1.4 2.1 1.8 -1.9 3.2 -0.3 5.8

2003 3.5 0.5 2.2 3.2 0.1 2.6 0.9 3.0

2004 3.0 2.0 2.5 4.5 1.7 2.5 2.0 1.0

2005 1.9 0.7 1.5 3.8 1.8 3.1 2.3 1.2

2006 0.9 -0.2 0.3 3.3 2.7 3.5 3.0 1.1

2007 1.7 -0.6 0.6 2.4 1.1 3.0 1.8 2.3

2008 0.8 -3.8 -1.3 -1.3 -1.4 2.6 0.0 4.7

2009 3.4 -4.9 -0.3 -4.1 -6.3 0.8 -3.8 8.7

2010 3.2 2.8 2.9 3.2 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.4

2011 0.1 1.2 0.2 2.2 2.6 1.0 2.0 -1.1

2012 0.8 1.8 0.8 3.1 2.9 1.3 2.3 -1.0

2013 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.9 0.0

2014 0.7 1.0 0.7 3.1 2.5 2.1 2.4 -0.3

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

Table 2. Private business sector: productivity and related measures for the 1987-20141 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 1.0 4.3 3.0 3.9 3.3 1.1

1989 1.1 -0.1 0.4 3.9 3.1 3.9 3.4 1.2

1990 2.4 -1.6 0.9 1.6 -0.5 3.3 0.8 4.0

1991 1.9 -3.2 -0.5 -0.5 -1.5 2.8 -0.1 5.3

1992 4.5 1.9 3.3 4.3 0.2 2.3 0.9 2.5

1993 0.2 -0.1 -0.4 3.0 3.5 3.0 3.3 0.3

1994 0.9 1.3 0.6 4.9 4.6 3.5 4.3 -0.5

1995 0.4 -0.9 -0.5 3.2 3.5 4.2 3.7 1.4

1996 3.1 0.1 1.9 4.7 1.8 4.6 2.7 3.0

1997 1.9 0.0 1.2 5.3 3.5 5.3 4.1 1.9

1998 3.2 -0.8 1.3 5.2 2.9 6.0 3.9 4.0

1999 3.6 -0.7 2.1 5.6 2.0 6.3 3.4 4.3

2000 3.6 -1.6 1.7 4.5 1.1 6.2 2.7 5.2

2001 3.1 -3.6 0.5 0.8 -1.7 4.6 0.3 7.0

2002 4.2 -1.2 2.1 1.8 -1.8 3.0 -0.3 5.5

2003 3.7 0.7 2.4 3.2 0.0 2.5 0.8 3.0

2004 3.1 2.0 2.5 4.5 1.7 2.5 1.9 1.1

2005 2.0 0.7 1.5 3.8 1.8 3.2 2.3 1.3

2006 1.0 -0.3 0.3 3.2 2.6 3.5 2.9 1.2

2007 1.5 -0.7 0.5 2.2 1.0 2.9 1.7 2.3

2008 0.8 -3.4 -1.2 -1.2 -1.3 2.3 0.0 4.4

2009 3.6 -4.5 -0.2 -3.9 -6.2 0.7 -3.7 8.5

2010 3.2 2.8 2.9 3.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4

2011 0.0 1.0 0.1 2.1 2.6 1.1 2.0 -1.0

2012 0.6 1.4 0.6 2.9 2.9 1.5 2.3 -0.9

2013 0.4 0.2 0.2 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.8 0.2

2014 0.6 1.0 0.7 3.1 2.6 2.0 2.4 -0.5

 See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
12

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

20141

 Indexes 2009=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 61.2 120.6 82.0 53.4 78.8 44.2 65.1 50.7

1988 62.2 121.5 83.0 55.8 81.3 45.9 67.3 51.2

1989 62.7 121.2 83.1 57.9 83.9 47.8 69.6 51.8

1990 64.1 118.9 83.6 58.8 83.7 49.4 70.3 53.9

1991 65.3 114.9 83.3 58.4 82.4 50.9 70.2 56.9

1992 68.1 116.7 85.9 60.8 82.5 52.1 70.8 58.4

1993 68.3 116.7 85.6 62.8 85.6 53.8 73.3 58.5

1994 69.0 117.9 86.1 65.7 89.2 55.7 76.3 58.5

1995 69.5 117.0 85.9 68.1 92.4 58.2 79.2 59.4

1996 71.4 116.7 87.3 71.2 94.2 61.0 81.5 61.2

1997 72.6 116.4 88.1 74.9 97.7 64.3 85.0 62.3

1998 74.9 115.5 89.2 78.9 100.6 68.3 88.4 64.8

1999 77.4 114.5 90.9 83.3 102.9 72.8 91.6 67.6

2000 80.0 112.3 92.4 87.0 104.0 77.4 94.1 71.2

2001 82.5 108.2 92.9 87.7 102.4 81.1 94.5 76.2

2002 86.0 106.7 94.8 89.3 100.4 83.7 94.1 80.6

2003 89.1 107.2 96.9 92.1 100.6 85.9 95.0 83.0

2004 91.7 109.4 99.3 96.2 102.3 88.0 96.9 83.9

2005 93.5 110.1 100.8 99.9 104.2 90.7 99.1 84.9

2006 94.3 109.9 101.1 103.2 107.0 93.9 102.1 85.8

2007 95.9 109.2 101.7 105.6 108.2 96.7 103.9 87.8

2008 96.7 105.1 100.3 104.3 106.7 99.2 103.9 92.0

2009 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2010 103.2 102.8 102.9 103.2 100.2 100.4 100.3 100.4

2011 103.2 104.1 103.2 105.5 102.8 101.4 102.3 99.2

2012 104.0 105.9 104.0 108.8 105.8 102.8 104.6 98.2

2013 103.9 105.8 103.9 110.8 107.8 104.7 106.6 98.2

2014 104.6 106.9 104.7 114.2 110.5 106.8 109.1 97.9

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

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

 Indexes 2009=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 60.3 117.3 80.8 53.3 79.6 45.4 65.9 51.4

1988 61.3 117.8 81.6 55.6 82.0 47.2 68.1 52.0

1989 62.0 117.7 82.0 57.7 84.6 49.0 70.4 52.6

1990 63.5 115.9 82.7 58.7 84.2 50.6 70.9 54.8

1991 64.7 112.1 82.3 58.3 83.0 52.0 70.9 57.7

1992 67.6 114.2 85.0 60.8 83.2 53.3 71.6 59.1

1993 67.7 114.2 84.7 62.6 86.1 54.9 73.9 59.3

1994 68.3 115.7 85.2 65.7 90.0 56.8 77.1 59.0

1995 68.6 114.6 84.8 67.8 93.2 59.2 80.0 59.9

1996 70.7 114.7 86.4 71.0 94.9 61.9 82.2 61.6

1997 72.0 114.7 87.4 74.8 98.2 65.2 85.6 62.8

1998 74.3 113.9 88.5 78.7 101.1 69.1 88.9 65.3

1999 77.0 113.0 90.4 83.1 103.1 73.5 91.9 68.1

2000 79.7 111.2 92.0 86.8 104.2 78.0 94.4 71.6

2001 82.2 107.2 92.4 87.5 102.5 81.6 94.6 76.6

2002 85.7 105.9 94.4 89.1 100.6 84.1 94.4 80.9

2003 88.8 106.7 96.6 91.9 100.7 86.2 95.1 83.3

2004 91.6 108.8 99.1 96.1 102.3 88.3 97.0 84.2

2005 93.4 109.5 100.6 99.8 104.2 91.1 99.2 85.3

2006 94.3 109.2 100.9 103.1 106.9 94.3 102.1 86.4

2007 95.8 108.5 101.4 105.3 108.0 97.1 103.9 88.3

2008 96.6 104.7 100.2 104.1 106.6 99.3 103.9 92.2

2009 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2010 103.2 102.8 102.9 103.2 100.3 100.4 100.3 100.4

2011 103.1 103.8 103.0 105.4 102.9 101.5 102.3 99.3

2012 103.7 105.3 103.6 108.5 105.8 103.0 104.7 98.5

2013 104.1 105.5 103.8 110.7 107.7 104.9 106.6 98.7

2014 104.7 106.6 104.6 114.1 110.4 107.1 109.1 98.2

See footnotes following table 4. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
14

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 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 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 the total wage bill.

(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, and aggregating into a chained superlative index.

(8) Capital services per hour.
15

Table 5. Real capital services by asset type, private nonfarm business sector, 1987-2014

Compound annual growth rates

1987-

2014

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2014

2013-

2014

All assets 3.3 3.8 3.3 5.9 3.2 1.4 2.1

Equipment 4.5 3.7 4.1 8.9 4.5 1.8 2.9

Information processing

equipment (IPE) 9.1 8.8 8.1 18.4 8.6 4.2 3.0

Computers & related equipment 17.1 18.7 15.7 40.7 13.7 6.1 2.5

Communication equipment 7.0 5.8 5.2 10.8 8.5 4.8 4.1

Other IPE 2.6 2.5 3.7 3.4 2.5 1.4 2.1

All other equipment 2.3 1.4 2.2 4.6 2.7 0.9 2.9

Structures 1.6 2.9 1.9 2.2 1.2 0.9 1.0

 Intellectual property products (IPP) 5.7 8.1 6.6 8.4 4.9 2.9 3.3

 Research and development 3.8 5.7 4.1 4.6 2.9 3.1 3.3

Software 10.2 17.8 13.6 17.0 7.5 3.1 3.9

Artistic originals 3.3 3.7 3.4 4.0 3.6 2.3 2.2

Residential rental capital 1.2 1.9 0.9 1.8 2.2 -0.3 -0.2

Inventories 2.4 3.4 2.3 4.4 2.2 0.9 3.1

Land 0.7 1.7 1.2 1.3 0.6 -0.4 1.0

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Note: For a brief discussion of methods used in preparing these data, see Technical Notes in this release.
16

Table 6. Real capital services by asset type, private business sector, 1987-2014

Compound annual growth rates

1987-

2014

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2014

2013-

2014

All assets 3.2 3.7 3.2 5.7 3.2 1.4 2.0

Equipment 4.4 3.4 3.9 8.8 4.5 1.9 3.0

Information processing

equipment (IPE) 9.1 8.9 8.1 18.4 8.6 4.3 3.1

Computers & related equipment 17.1 18.7 15.8 40.7 13.7 6.1 2.5

Communication equipment 7.0 5.8 5.2 10.8 8.5 4.8 4.1

Other IPE 2.8 2.6 3.8 3.5 2.7 1.8 2.5

All other equipment 2.2 1.1 1.9 4.5 2.7 1.0 3.0

Structures 1.6 2.8 1.9 2.1 1.2 0.9 1.0

Intellectual property products (IPP) 5.7 8.1 6.6 8.4 4.9 2.9 3.3

Research and development 3.8 5.7 4.1 4.6 2.9 3.1 3.3

Software 10.2 17.8 13.6 17.0 7.5 3.1 3.9

Artistic originals 3.3 3.7 3.4 4.0 3.6 2.3 2.2

Residential rental capital 1.2 1.9 0.9 1.8 2.2 -0.3 -0.2

Inventories 2.3 2.9 2.3 4.2 2.2 0.8 3.2

Land 0.7 3.3 1.0 0.9 0.6 -0.5 0.3

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Note: For a brief discussion of methods used in preparing these data, see Technical Notes in this release.