U.S. manufacturing labor productivity (measured in output per hour of labor) increased 43 percent between 2001 and 2011. However, over the next ten years, productivity fell by 2.8 percent.

Fact of the Week: US Manufacturing Labor Productivity Fell by 2.8 Percent Between 2011 and 2021

Productivity rather than profitability has a higher impact on the chances of a new firm's survival, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: Productivity Matters More Than Profitability For New Firms’ Survival and Growth in the United States

Fact of the Week: Productivity Matters More Than Profitability For New Firms' Survival and Growth in the United States

Average annual growth of U.S. labor productivity over the past five years hit 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2024.

Fact of the Week: US Labor Productivity Is Rising, Potentially Suggesting Another Productivity Boom in This Decade

A recent White House report noted that inflation-adjusted spending on manufacturing construction increased nearly 100 percent since the end of 2021 after decades of stagnant investment growth.

Fact of the Week: Spending on Manufacturing Construction Increased Nearly 100 Percent Since the End of 2021

A new report by ITIF finds that the fact that U.S. workers are 16 percent more productive than EU-15 workers is largely attributable to Europe’s failure to invest in information and communications technologies (ICT), which drives labor productivity.

Fact of the Week: Labor Productivity in the U.S. is Higher than in the EU, Largely Due to ICT Investments

Labor productivity growth during the U.K.'s Industrial Revolution averaged below 0.4 percent from 1770 to 1830, and only gradually increased to about 0.8 percent in 1860.

Fact of the Week: Labor Productivity Grew Less Than 0.4 Percent Annually During the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom

Emerging technologies promise to bring about a new production revolution that will increase welfare throughout society, but it is expected to have the largest impact on low-productivity jobs. This could increase the proportion of high-paying and high-productivity jobs, but it also threatens a larger disruption to society, as lower-skill workers have more difficulties changing industries.

Fact of the Week: 72 Percent of Jobs Created in the U.S. from 2010 to 2016 Were Below Average in Both Compensation and Productivity

There are nearly 6,000 firms with revenues exceeding $1 billion, representing nearly two-thirds of global corporate earnings. The 10 percent of those firms with the largest profits produce 80 percent of the group’s total earnings. A new study has found that firms in the top 1 percent outperform the median firm across the board, with 20 times more revenue, 12 times more employees, 2.9 times more R&D intensity, 23 percent more labor productivity, and 14 percent more fixed capital productivity.

Fact of the Week: The Least Profitable Firms Among the World’s Largest Companies Have Higher Labor Productivity and Lower Fixed Capital Productivity than the Most Profitable Firms

Fact of the Week: The Least Profitable Firms Among the World's Largest Companies Have Higher Labor Productivity and Lower Fixed Capital Productivity than the Most Profitable Firms

While a labor shortage may drive up the cost of labor in the short run, in the long run it results in increased labor productivity and reduced prices.

Fact of the Week: Stricter Land Use Regulations Led to a 40 Percent Decline in Construction Productivity

Related

Fact of the Week: US Manufacturing Labor Productivity Fell by 2.8 Percent Between 2011 and 2021

Fact of the Week: Productivity Matters More Than Profitability For New Firms’ Survival and Growth in the United States

Fact of the Week: US Labor Productivity Is Rising, Potentially Suggesting Another Productivity Boom in This Decade