Q1 Productivity Declined 7.3%, Biggest Drop Since 1947

Washington, DC, June 2, 2022-Nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 7.3% in Q1 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, as output decreased 2.3% and hours worked increased 5.4%. This is the largest decline in quarterly productivity since Q3 1947, when the measure decreased 11.7%. 

From the same quarter a year ago, nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 0.6%, reflecting a 4.2% increase in output that was outpaced by a 4.8% increase in hours worked.

This is the largest four-quarter decline since the fourth quarter of 1993, when the measure also declined 0.6%.