Productivity Increased At Healthy 3.2% Annual Rate in Fourth Quarter 2023 Despite Challenges
Posted against a relatively low 1.2% annual rate of growth in productivity for 2023 as a whole, American workers posted a 3.2% annualized gain in productivity in the fourth quarter of last year according to data and analysis from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics but challenges remain.
While the overall leap in productivity points towards a healthy growth in the nation’s wealth, much of the gain came from a decrease in overall manufacturing output and a steeper decrease in the hours worked in manufacturing.
“Manufacturing sector labor productivity increased 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, as output
decreased 2.4 percent and hours worked decreased 4.6 percent.”
This points to the ongoing challenge over the last three years of consistently ‘onshoring’ manufacturing jobs lost in the past three decades to ‘offshoring’. Leaders at all levels of government and the economy look to onshoring manufacturing as a key sign of economic progress and health BUT the challenges to those efforts clearly continue month over month.
We will continue to track this very important story so continue to check back.
The Association of Western Employers is dedicated to helping employers of all types to create career building job opportunities while helping employees develop those careers because every American deserves the opportunity for a great career.