What to look for Nonfarm and manufacturing productivity growth. Unit labor cost change. Change in hourly compensation. Change in unit non-labor costs. Strengths Provides good information on emerging wage pressures in the unit labor cost component.
Release provides best overall picture of the economy's efficiency.
Because the data are released on a quarterly basis, it is not as timely as monthly indicators of economic activity. Although these measures relate output to hours and capital services, they do not measure the contributions of labor, capital or any other specific factor of production. Rather, they reflect the joint effect of many influences, including changes in technology, shifts in labor force composition, capital investment, level of output, and changes in the utilization of capacity. Not available regionally. The productivity and associated cost measures describe the relationship between real output and the labor and capital inputs involved in its production.