June 2016 Measuring quarterly labor productivity by industry Timely statistics on output, employment, and productivity are essential to understanding the performance of the U.S. economy. This study examines newly available quarterly GDP-by-industry statistics to determine whether they can be used to produce reasonable quarterly labor productivity measures at the industry level. The results show that the quarterly labor-productivity data at the industry level can provide insights into which industries are driving current aggregate economic performance. However, the quarterly industry data are highly volatile and are most useful when evaluated in conjunction with long-run trends in order to more precisely assess the business cycle dynamics. Lucy P. Eldridge
[email protected] Timely statistics on output, employment, and productivity Lucy P. Eldridge is the Associate Commissioner are essential to understanding the performance of the U.S. of the Office of Productivity and Technology, U.S. economy. Labor productivity indicates how effectively labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. inputs are converted into output and provides information needed to assess changes in technology, labor share, living Jennifer Price
[email protected] standards, and competitiveness. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) produces both quarterly labor productivity Jennifer Price is an economist in the Office of measures for broad sectors of the U.S. economy and Productivity and Technology, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. annual labor productivity measures for industries.1 Quarterly labor productivity data are analyzed as indicators of cyclical changes in the economy and are closely watched by the financial community, nonfinancial businesses, government policymakers, and researchers.