US productivity rises 3.6% in Q3; labour share at record low

Labour productivity in the US nonfarm business sector increased at a 3.6% annual rate in the third quarter of 2026, as output rose 3.7% and hours worked 0.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on 5 November 2026 in its preliminary estimate. Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, productivity rose 2.1% (Productivity and Costs, third quarter 2026, preliminary).

Key figures, third quarter 2026 (preliminary, annual rates)

• Labour productivity: up 3.6%; up 2.1% on a year earlier
• Output: up 3.7%; hours worked: up 0.1%
• Hourly compensation: up 2.9%
• Unit labour costs: down 0.7%; up 2.4% over four quarters
• Real hourly compensation: up 1.1%; up 1.0% over four quarters
• Labour share: 53.0%, the lowest level in the series, which begins in the first quarter of 1947

The labour share is the part of output that goes to workers as pay. Unit labour costs are hourly compensation divided by productivity, so faster productivity growth tends to reduce them, the BLS notes.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing productivity rose 0.3%, as output increased 1.3% and hours worked 1.0%. Productivity rose 2.2% in durable manufacturing and fell 1.7% in nondurable manufacturing. Manufacturing unit labour costs rose 2.7% in the quarter and 4.0% from a year earlier.

Revisions

The figures include the 2026 annual update of the national accounts, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on 30 September. Second-quarter productivity was revised up 0.7 points to 2.1%, and second-quarter unit labour costs up 0.7 points to 1.9%. Since the fourth quarter of 2019, productivity has grown at an annual rate of 2.2%, the same as the long-term rate since 1947 and above the 1.5% of the 2007 to 2019 cycle.

Context and next release

Third-quarter output growth was first reported with GDP on 30 October: US GDP grew 3.4% in Q3 2026. Labour costs from the employer side: US employment cost index for Q3. The revised productivity estimate is scheduled for Tuesday 8 December 2026 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.