Nonfarm Labor Productivity Improves by 6.6% In the Fourth Quarter of 2021

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

US labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector saw a gain of 6.6% in the last quarter of 2021, resulting in a 9.1% increase in overall output. SPY is down -0.42%, DXY is up +0.41%.

• The gains in the nonfarm labor productivity also saw the hours rise by 2.4% in the fourth quarter.
• Compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, nonfarm labor productivity increased by 1.9%, with the annual average productivity surging higher by 1.9% from 2020 to 2021.
• In the fourth quarter, the unit labor costs rose by 0.9%, with up to 7.5% gain in hourly compensation and 6.6% uptick in productivity. The unit labor costs have not risen by 3.5% in the last four quarters.
• Following the gains, the nonfarm labor productivity in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 4.6% above the last quarter of 2019. The gain corresponds to a 2.3% annual growth during the pandemic.