Broadening our measure of productivity from the nonfarm business sector to the total economy reduces productivity growth: Nonfarm business productivity, total economy productivity, and hourly compensation,1948–2019
| Year | NFB productivity | Total economy productivity | Average hourly compensation, NFB (index) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 46.45 | 47.06 | 49.72 |
| 1949 | 47.94 | 47.88 | 51.69 |
| 1950 | 51.11 | 51.11 | 54.13 |
| 1951 | 52.45 | 52.20 | 54.53 |
| 1952 | 53.44 | 53.78 | 56.25 |
| 1953 | 54.75 | 55.69 | 58.95 |
| 1954 | 55.83 | 57.06 | 60.62 |
| 1955 | 58.21 | 59.19 | 62.98 |
| 1956 | 57.88 | 59.47 | 65.85 |
| 1957 | 59.37 | 61.29 | 67.40 |
| 1958 | 60.74 | 63.05 | 68.20 |
| 1959 | 62.88 | 65.05 | 70.17 |
| 1960 | 63.63 | 66.25 | 72.13 |
| 1961 | 65.71 | 68.42 | 73.73 |
| 1962 | 68.70 | 70.83 | 75.79 |
| 1963 | 71.04 | 73.33 | 77.41 |
| 1964 | 73.05 | 75.57 | 78.73 |
| 1965 | 75.38 | 77.81 | 80.08 |
| 1966 | 78.10 | 80.13 | 82.35 |
| 1967 | 79.58 | 81.41 | 84.79 |
| 1968 | 82.37 | 83.91 | 87.46 |
| 1969 | 82.53 | 84.48 | 88.63 |
| 1970 | 83.75 | 86.17 | 89.56 |
| 1971 | 87.04 | 89.41 | 91.18 |
| 1972 | 90.07 | 91.66 | 94.03 |
| 1973 | 92.84 | 93.84 | 95.25 |
| 1974 | 91.32 | 93.00 | 93.95 |
| 1975 | 93.83 | 95.56 | 95.11 |
| 1976 | 97.11 | 97.84 | 96.89 |
| 1977 | 98.78 | 98.90 | 98.45 |
| 1978 | 100.14 | 99.80 | 99.90 |
| 1979 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
| 1980 | 99.98 | 100.14 | 99.70 |
| 1981 | 101.46 | 102.17 | 99.77 |
| 1982 | 100.68 | 102.19 | 101.01 |
| 1983 | 104.76 | 104.96 | 101.23 |
| 1984 | 107.11 | 107.22 | 101.30 |
| 1985 | 108.99 | 109.12 | 102.76 |
| 1986 | 112.25 | 111.67 | 106.75 |
| 1987 | 112.89 | 112.18 | 107.22 |
| 1988 | 114.74 | 113.77 | 108.75 |
| 1989 | 115.79 | 114.89 | 107.28 |
| 1990 | 117.77 | 116.65 | 108.36 |
| 1991 | 119.70 | 118.03 | 109.58 |
| 1992 | 125.07 | 122.29 | 113.51 |
| 1993 | 125.21 | 122.84 | 112.12 |
| 1994 | 126.09 | 123.71 | 110.89 |
| 1995 | 127.47 | 124.50 | 110.98 |
| 1996 | 130.16 | 126.91 | 111.81 |
| 1997 | 132.68 | 129.26 | 113.70 |
| 1998 | 136.76 | 132.26 | 118.68 |
| 1999 | 141.97 | 136.20 | 121.65 |
| 2000 | 146.70 | 139.65 | 125.91 |
| 2001 | 150.70 | 142.72 | 127.81 |
| 2002 | 157.23 | 147.11 | 128.70 |
| 2003 | 163.21 | 152.09 | 130.51 |
| 2004 | 167.91 | 156.12 | 132.89 |
| 2005 | 171.59 | 159.27 | 133.26 |
| 2006 | 173.44 | 160.81 | 134.05 |
| 2007 | 176.48 | 162.50 | 135.99 |
| 2008 | 178.51 | 164.33 | 134.76 |
| 2009 | 184.82 | 169.49 | 136.43 |
| 2010 | 191.12 | 173.90 | 136.75 |
| 2011 | 191.12 | 174.00 | 135.53 |
| 2012 | 192.74 | 174.81 | 136.24 |
| 2013 | 193.71 | 175.86 | 135.94 |
| 2014 | 195.36 | 176.96 | 137.47 |
| 2015 | 198.41 | 178.66 | 141.53 |
| 2016 | 199.15 | 179.39 | 141.24 |
| 2017 | 201.58 | 181.17 | 143.14 |
| 2018 | 204.50 | 183.07 | 144.41 |
| 2019 | 208.09 | 185.46 | 147.04 |
Note: All three lines are indices set to 100 in 1979.
Source: Nonfarm business sector productivity draws on real output and compensation per hour data from the BLS Labor Productivity and Costs (LPC) program; total economy productivity (real output per hour for the total economy) data are unpublished Total Economy Productivity (TEP) series data provided by the BLS upon request.