Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 0.7 percent during the first quarter of 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today,
as output increased 2.8 percent and hours worked increased 2.1 percent. From the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018, productivity increased 1.3 percent, reflecting a 3.6-percent increase in output and a 2.2-percent increase in hours worked.

Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2018, reflecting a 3.4-percent increase in hourly compensation and a 0.7-percent increase in productivity. BLS calculates unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity.