For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, March 23, 2011                                            USDL-11-0395

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                 PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS BY INDUSTRY: MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, 2009


Labor productivity - defined as output per hour - rose in 28 percent of the 86 detailed manufacturing 
industries studied in 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was down from 38 
percent of the detailed manufacturing industries in 2008 and 56 percent in 2007. Unit labor costs, which 
reflect the total labor costs required to produce a unit of output, declined in 14 percent of the industries 
in 2009.

Output and hours also rose in fewer industries in 2009 than in the previous two years. Output rose in 7 
of the 86 industries in 2009, while hours increased in only 1. Output and hours declined at double-digit 
rates in over 7 out of 10 industries studied.

Productivity increased the most in seafood product preparation and packaging and in agricultural 
chemical manufacturing. In both industries, hours declined while output increased. Productivity fell the 
most in audio and video equipment manufacturing, where output declined much more than hours.

Industry labor productivity measures are updated as data become available. Productivity measures for 
industries in other sectors can be accessed on the BLS Labor Productivity and Costs web site at 
www.bls.gov/lpc.

Labor productivity increased in only 5 of the 21 3-digit NAICS manufacturing industries in 2009. 
Output fell in all but one of these industries, and hours declined in all of them. Unit labor costs fell in 3 
of the industries.

The industry productivity performance in 2009 contrasts with industry productivity performance over 
the longer term. Between 1987 and 2009, labor productivity increased in 93 percent of the detailed 
manufacturing industries and unit labor costs declined in 14 percent of the industries. There is a 
significantly more negative distribution of productivity growth rates in the most recent year compared to 
those for the longer-term period from 1987 to 2009.