Quick answer
- Latest labor productivity statistics: US nonfarm business output per hour rose at a 3.6% annual rate in Q3 2026 and 2.1% over the past four quarters (BLS, November 5, 2026).
- Since 1947, productivity has grown an average 2.2% a year. The current cycle (Q4 2019 to Q3 2026) matches it; the 2007 to 2019 cycle managed 1.5%.
- Workers' share of output fell to 52.8% in Q2 2026, the lowest on record, as real hourly pay grew more slowly than output per hour.
The headline labor productivity statistics for the US: output per hour in the nonfarm business sector grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.6% in the third quarter of 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) preliminary Productivity and Costs release of November 5, 2026. Output rose 3.7% while hours worked barely moved. Below are the national, industry and state numbers, the long-run trend, and how productivity connects to pay and hours.
Latest labor productivity statistics (Q3 2026)
These are the BLS figures for the nonfarm business sector, which covers about three quarters of the economy's output and excludes government, farms, nonprofits and households. Quarterly changes are annualized.
- 3.6%: productivity growth in Q3 2026. Output grew 3.7% and hours worked grew 0.1%. Businesses produced much more without adding meaningful hours.
- 2.1%: productivity growth over the four quarters ending in Q3 2026, with output up 2.3% and hours up 0.2%.
- 2.9%: hourly compensation growth in Q3 2026. Because productivity grew faster, unit labor costs fell 0.7%. Over four quarters, unit labor costs rose 2.4%.
- 2.1%: revised Q2 2026 productivity growth, up 0.7 percentage point from the first estimate of 1.4%. Q2 unit labor costs were revised to 1.9% from 1.2%.
- 2.3%: nonfarm business productivity growth for full-year 2025, revised from 2.1%.
- 0.3%: manufacturing productivity growth in Q3 2026, as output rose 1.3% and hours rose 1.0%. Durable goods rose 2.2%; nondurable goods fell 1.7%. Manufacturing unit labor costs rose 2.7%.
| Measure | Q3 2026 (annual rate) | Four quarters to Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Labor productivity (output per hour) | 3.6 | 2.1 |
| Output | 3.7 | 2.3 |
| Hours worked | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Hourly compensation | 2.9 | 4.5 |
| Real hourly compensation | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Unit labor costs | -0.7 | 2.4 |
The quarterly path has been uneven. BLS data series PRS85006092 shows annualized productivity changes of -0.1% in Q1 2025, 4.2% in Q2, 4.5% in Q3 and 1.2% in Q4, then 1.4% in Q1 2026, 2.1% in Q2 and 3.6% in Q3. One strong quarter is not a trend, and the Q3 figure will be revised on December 8, 2026, the date BLS has scheduled for the revised release.
What this means for employers: Falling unit labor costs mean output grew faster than pay in Q3, which eases pressure to raise prices. But the four-quarter rise in unit labor costs (2.4%) is the better guide for budgeting 2027 labor costs. Compare your own wage increases with your output per hour, not with the national quarter.
How labor productivity is measured
Most of the confusion around productivity statistics comes from three terms. Here is what BLS means by each.
- Labor productivity is real output divided by hours worked. If output grows 3.7% and hours grow 0.1%, output per hour grows about 3.6%, which is exactly the Q3 2026 result.
- Unit labor costs are the labor cost of producing one unit of output. They rise when hourly compensation grows faster than productivity. In Q3 2026, compensation rose 2.9% and productivity 3.6%, so unit labor costs fell 0.7%.
- Total factor productivity (TFP) measures output against a combined set of inputs: capital, labor and, for industries, materials and services. It captures gains from technology and better methods rather than from more equipment per worker.
BLS publishes several sectors. Nonfarm business is the headline. Nonfinancial corporations run one quarter behind: their productivity rose 3.4% in Q2 2026, revised from 2.2%, and their unit labor costs fell 0.4%. Private nonfarm business, used for TFP and state data, is defined a little differently, which is why annual figures from different releases do not always match.
Hours are the denominator in every one of these measures. At the company level, the equivalent is your total paid hours, which is why clean timesheets matter before any productivity number means anything.
What this means for employers: To track your own output per hour, pick one output measure you trust (sales, orders, units, billable jobs) and divide it by hours actually worked, not by headcount or scheduled hours. Track it monthly, and compare it with your wage growth the way BLS compares compensation with productivity.
US productivity growth over time
The long view smooths out noisy quarters. BLS business cycle comparisons and its TFP release give these benchmarks.
- 2.2% a year: average nonfarm business productivity growth since the first quarter of 1947.
- 2.2% a year: growth in the current business cycle, from Q4 2019 through Q3 2026, the same as the long-run rate.
- 1.5% a year: growth in the previous cycle, Q4 2007 to Q4 2019, a decade of slow gains after the financial crisis.
- 2.2%: private nonfarm business labor productivity growth in 2025, down from 3.0% in 2024, per the March 19, 2026 TFP release.
- 0.8%: total factor productivity growth in 2025, after 1.5% in 2024. Output rose 2.6% and combined inputs 1.7%.
- 1.0% a year: TFP growth over 2019 to 2025, compared with 0.6% over 2007 to 2019.
BLS splits 2025 labor productivity growth into three parts: TFP contributed 0.8 percentage point, capital intensity (more capital per hour worked) 0.9 point, and labor composition (a more skilled and experienced workforce) 0.4 point.
| Period | Measure | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 1947 to Q3 2026 | Nonfarm business labor productivity | 2.2% |
| Q4 2007 to Q4 2019 | Nonfarm business labor productivity | 1.5% |
| Q4 2019 to Q3 2026 | Nonfarm business labor productivity | 2.2% |
| 2007 to 2019 | Private nonfarm business TFP | 0.6% |
| 2019 to 2025 | Private nonfarm business TFP | 1.0% |
Why the gap between 1.5% and 2.2% matters: at 2.2% a year, output per hour doubles in about 32 years; at 1.5%, it takes about 47 years (Workzenly calculation from the BLS growth rates).
What this means for employers: The national economy is back on its long-run productivity track, so competitors are getting more output from each hour. A business whose output per hour is flat is falling behind, even if its own numbers look stable.
Productivity by industry
Industry-level labor productivity statistics show wide gaps. BLS publishes annual productivity by detailed industry in three releases. All figures are for 2025.
- Retail trade productivity rose 2.9%, as output grew 2.5% and hours fell 0.4% (May 28, 2026). Wholesale trade rose 4.4%.
- Productivity rose in 35 of 46 trade industries. Among the 10 largest by employment, clothing stores gained most at 11.2%; building material and supplies dealers (-3.4%) and grocery stores (-3.1%) fell most.
- Productivity rose in 15 of 30 selected service industries (August 26, 2026). Software publishers led at 12.9%, followed by line-haul railroads (11.3%) and wireless telecom carriers (8.8%).
- Couriers and messengers productivity fell 8.5%, and their unit labor costs rose 12.2%, the largest increase of the 30 service industries.
- Productivity rose in 41 of 85 manufacturing and mining industries (June 24, 2026). Oil and gas extraction rose 13.9% as output grew 2.9% and hours fell 9.6%.
- Among manufacturing industries with more than 350,000 workers, motor vehicle parts gained most (4.6%) and bakeries and tortilla products fell most (-4.4%).
- Unit labor costs rose in all 20 three-digit manufacturing industries in 2025, by an average of 4.5%.
Over longer periods, gains are broader. From 1987 to 2025, productivity rose in 75 of 85 manufacturing and mining industries. In the 30 service industries, mostly measured since 1987, productivity rose in 24, with median growth of 1.7% a year.
Some gains come from fewer hours rather than more output. Vending machine operators posted an 18.2% productivity gain in 2025 while output fell 0.7% and hours fell 16.0%. Read industry productivity alongside output and hours before drawing conclusions. For pay levels in these industries, see our average hourly wage statistics; for retail staffing, see Workzenly for retail.
What this means for employers: In grocery, building supply and courier work, hours grew faster than output in 2025. Those are scheduling-heavy industries where overstaffed shifts show up directly in output per hour. Matching staffed hours to demand is the lever most small employers control.
Productivity by state
BLS state productivity covers the private nonfarm sector. The latest release, May 28, 2026, covers 2025.
- Productivity rose in 42 states and the District of Columbia in 2025 and fell in eight: Idaho, Alaska, Mississippi, Wyoming, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Nevada and Nebraska.
- The District of Columbia (5.2%), Arizona (4.4%) and California (4.2%) had the largest gains.
- National private nonfarm productivity grew 1.8% in the state data set.
- Alaska had the fastest output growth (3.8%) but also the largest rise in hours (6.2%), so its productivity fell. Idaho's hours rose 5.4%.
- From 2019 to 2025, New Mexico (3.6% a year) and Washington (3.5%) were the only states above 3.0%.
- From 2007 to 2025, productivity rose in all 50 states and DC. Washington led at 3.0% a year.
A note on conflicting numbers: the state release puts 2025 national growth at 1.8%, the TFP release at 2.2% for private nonfarm business, and the quarterly release at 2.3% for nonfarm business. The gaps come from different sector definitions, output measures and release dates, not errors.
What this means for employers: Multi-state employers should not expect the same output per hour in every location. Compare each site against its own history first, and treat a state's hours growth outpacing output, as in Alaska and Idaho in 2025, as a sign to review staffing levels.
Productivity, pay and labor share
Productivity growth is supposed to fund higher pay. The latest data show workers getting a smaller share.
- Over the four quarters ending in Q3 2026, productivity rose 2.1% but real hourly compensation rose only 1.0%. In Q3 alone, real hourly compensation rose 1.1%.
- Labor share, the part of nonfarm business output paid to workers as wages, salaries and benefits, fell to 52.8% in Q2 2026, the lowest since the series began in 1947 (BLS, September 15, 2026).
- Labor share was 65.5% in Q1 1947 and generally between 60% and 66% after World War II. It fell steadily after 2000.
- Since Q1 2025 (55.3%), labor share has dropped 2.5 percentage points in five quarters (Workzenly calculation from BLS data).
Nominal pay is a different story: hourly compensation in nonfarm business rose 4.5% over the four quarters to Q3 2026. Subtract productivity growth of 2.1% and you get the 2.4% rise in unit labor costs. Most of that nominal gain went to inflation, not to real pay.
What this means for employers: When productivity outruns real pay, workers notice, and it can feed turnover and disengagement (see our employee engagement statistics). Sharing part of a measured productivity gain through raises or bonuses tied to output per hour is one way to keep it.
Hours worked and worker productivity data
Productivity is output divided by hours, so the hours side deserves its own look.
- The average workweek for all private nonfarm employees was 34.4 hours in October 2026, unchanged, per the BLS Employment Situation of November 6, 2026.
- Production and nonsupervisory employees averaged 33.8 hours, down 0.1 hour.
- Manufacturing workers averaged 40.5 hours, including 3.1 hours of overtime.
- On days they worked, full-time employed people worked 8.1 hours on average in 2025: 8.5 hours on weekdays and 5.5 hours on weekend days (American Time Use Survey, June 25, 2026).
- 35% of employed people did some or all of their work at home on days they worked in 2025, and 70% did some or all of it at their workplace.
For more on weekly hours, see average work week hours; for home-based work, see our remote work statistics.
Hours paid but not worked inflate the denominator. Rounded punches, padded breaks and time theft all make output per hour look worse than it is, and they cost wages directly.
What this means for employers: Before trying to raise output per hour, make sure hours are recorded accurately. A time and attendance system and approved digital timesheets give you a reliable hours total by employee, job and location, which is the base for any productivity measure.
About this data
These labor productivity statistics come from BLS programs. Productivity and Costs is quarterly: a preliminary estimate about five weeks after the quarter ends and a revision a month later (the revised Q3 2026 release is scheduled for December 8, 2026). Productivity by industry, by state and total factor productivity are annual releases. The Employment Situation is monthly and the American Time Use Survey is annual.
Quarterly figures are seasonally adjusted annual rates. Where we compute differences or doubling times, the text says "Workzenly calculation." We review this page when new releases come out. Journalists, students and bloggers are welcome to cite it with a link to this page.
More workforce statistics: Average work week hours · Average hourly wage · Remote work statistics · Four-day work week statistics.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Productivity and Costs, Third Quarter 2026, Preliminary, released November 5, 2026. bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor productivity for the nonfarm business sector, percent change from previous quarter (series PRS85006092), 2025 to 2026. data.bls.gov/timeseries/PRS85006092
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Total Factor Productivity 2025, released March 19, 2026. bls.gov/news.release/prod3.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Productivity and Costs by Industry: Wholesale and Retail Trade, 2025, released May 28, 2026. bls.gov/news.release/prin1.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Productivity and Costs by Industry: Manufacturing and Mining, 2025, released June 24, 2026. bls.gov/news.release/prin.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Productivity and Costs by Industry: Selected Service-Providing Industries, 2025, released August 26, 2026. bls.gov/news.release/prin2.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Productivity by State, 2025, released May 28, 2026. bls.gov/news.release/prin4.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Economics Daily, Labor share at its lowest level, 52.8 percent, in second quarter 2026, September 15, 2026. bls.gov/opub/ted
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation, October 2026, released November 6, 2026. bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey, 2025 Results, released June 25, 2026. bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm
Frequently asked questions
What is the current US labor productivity growth rate?
Nonfarm business labor productivity rose at a 3.6% annual rate in the third quarter of 2026, according to the BLS Productivity and Costs release of November 5, 2026. Over the four quarters ending in Q3 2026, productivity grew 2.1%. BLS publishes revised Q3 figures on December 8, 2026.
How is labor productivity calculated?
BLS divides real output by hours worked, so labor productivity is output per hour. In Q3 2026, nonfarm business output grew 3.7% and hours grew 0.1%, which produced 3.6% productivity growth. Unit labor costs compare hourly compensation with productivity: compensation rose 2.9%, so unit labor costs fell 0.7%.
What is the long-term average US productivity growth rate?
BLS reports that nonfarm business productivity has grown at an average 2.2% a year since the first quarter of 1947. The current business cycle, from Q4 2019 through Q3 2026, matches that 2.2% rate. The previous cycle, from Q4 2007 to Q4 2019, averaged only 1.5% a year.
Which industries had the biggest productivity gains in 2025?
Among industries BLS measured for 2025, oil and gas extraction rose 13.9%, software publishers 12.9%, line-haul railroads 11.3% and clothing stores 11.2%. Retail trade overall rose 2.9% and wholesale trade 4.4%. Couriers and messengers fell 8.5% and grocery stores fell 3.1%, per BLS industry releases from May to August 2026.
Which state has the highest productivity growth?
In 2025, the District of Columbia had the largest private nonfarm productivity gain at 5.2%, followed by Arizona at 4.4% and California at 4.2%, per the BLS Productivity by State release of May 28, 2026. Productivity rose in 42 states and DC. From 2007 to 2025, Washington led at 3.0% a year.
Has worker pay kept up with productivity?
Not recently. Over the four quarters ending in Q3 2026, nonfarm business productivity rose 2.1% while real hourly compensation rose 1.0%, per BLS. Labor share, the part of output paid to workers, fell to 52.8% in Q2 2026, the lowest level since records began in 1947.