--- title: "How to Read the Productivity and Costs" description: "How to read the Productivity and Costs: what it measures, how to interpret the headline versus consensus expectations, and how it affects Stocks, Treasuries." canonical: https://www.getswoopr.com/economic-releases/employment-and-labor/productivity-and-costs/ source: "Swoopr Investment: https://www.getswoopr.com" --- ## Direct Answer > The Productivity and Costs is a quarterly release from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Productivity and Costs reports labor productivity (real output per hour worked), hourly compensation and unit labor costs for the business, nonfarm business, manufacturing and nonfinancial corporate sectors. Business sector output is built from GDP, hours mainly from the Current Employment Statistics program, and compensation mainly from BEA data. # How to Read the Productivity and Costs ## What is the Productivity and Costs? Productivity and Costs reports labor productivity (real output per hour worked), hourly compensation and unit labor costs for the business, nonfarm business, manufacturing and nonfinancial corporate sectors. Business sector output is built from GDP, hours mainly from the Current Employment Statistics program, and compensation mainly from BEA data. Quarterly percent changes in the release are seasonally adjusted annualized rates, while year-ago changes compare the same quarter. Indexes use 2017 equal to 100. **Production facts:** - **Publisher:** U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - **Frequency:** Quarterly - **Typical release time:** 8:30 a.m. ET on scheduled date - **Primary metric:** Nonfarm business productivity - **Market sensitivity:** High - **Data type:** Hard data - **Economic indicator type:** Lagging - **Revision risk:** High ## Key components to watch The headline (Nonfarm business productivity) is the most widely quoted but rarely the most informative number. The components that follow reveal whether the headline result is broad-based or concentrated, improving or deteriorating, and consistent with prior trends. - Labor productivity - Output - Hours worked - Hourly compensation - Real hourly compensation - Unit labor costs For any release with multiple components, the investor's task is not to memorize every number but to identify which components are most relevant to the current investment thesis and track those with the most care. ## How to read the headline: actual versus expected Markets react to the gap between the published Nonfarm business productivity and the consensus forecast, not to the level alone. A stronger-than-expected or weaker-than-expected result is defined against that forecast, so check what was expected before reading the number. The Productivity and Costs carries high revision risk: Each quarter's measures are first released as a preliminary report and then in a revised release based on more recent source data from BLS, BEA and the Federal Reserve. Read any revision to the prior period together with the new figure. ## Market impact by asset class The Productivity and Costs primarily affects the following markets: Stocks, Treasuries, Fed funds futures, USD. **Stronger than expected result:** In an inflation-elevated, tightening environment, a stronger result typically pressures interest-rate-sensitive assets and can strengthen the dollar. In a growth-slowing environment, a stronger result can be equity-supportive if it reduces recession fears. **Weaker than expected result:** In a growth-concern environment, a weaker result may reinforce concerns about economic deceleration. If the Fed is watching this specific indicator for policy calibration, a persistent pattern of below-consensus results may shift the rate path. **In-line result:** In-line results typically produce muted market reactions unless there are significant component deviations from expectations. The market had already priced the consensus, so confirmation requires little repricing. ## Revision risk and methodology notes The Productivity and Costs carries **high revision risk**. Each quarter's measures are first released as a preliminary report and then in a revised release based on more recent source data from BLS, BEA and the Federal Reserve. In the second quarter 2026 revised release, nonfarm business productivity was not revised at the displayed precision, while manufacturing productivity was revised from 1.9 to 2.4 percent. Primary source: [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Productivity and Costs](https://www.bls.gov/schedule/2026/). Publisher documents read for this page: - [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Technical notes](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod2.tn.htm) - [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Productivity and Costs, Second Quarter 2026, Revised](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm) - [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Calculation](https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/opt/calculation.htm) ## Common investor mistakes - **Reacting to the headline without checking the components.** The headline can diverge significantly from the underlying trend revealed by the components. A headline beat driven by a volatile component may not indicate the same strength as a broad-based improvement. - **Ignoring revisions to prior periods.** An initial strong number revised down in the following release tells a different story than a number that stands firm. - **Not knowing what is consensus-priced.** Reacting to a number without knowing what was already expected conflates information with noise. The market reaction is driven by the deviation from expectations, not by the level of the number. - **Applying the same interpretation across different regimes.** The same headline result has different implications depending on the Fed's current stance, the growth trend, and what is already priced into the yield curve and equity multiples. ## Related releases The Productivity and Costs should be read alongside: - Employment Situation (Jobs Report) - Nonfarm Payrolls - Unemployment Rate - Average Hourly Earnings - Labor Force Participation Rate ## Frequently asked questions What is the Productivity and Costs? Productivity and Costs reports labor productivity (real output per hour worked), hourly compensation and unit labor costs for the business, nonfarm business, manufacturing and nonfinancial corporate sectors. Business sector output is built from GDP, hours mainly from the Current Employment Statistics program, and compensation mainly from BEA data. It is published quarterly by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. When is the Productivity and Costs released? The Productivity and Costs is released by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on a quarterly schedule: 8:30 a.m. ET on scheduled date. Exact dates are on the publisher's release calendar. How does the Productivity and Costs affect markets? The Productivity and Costs primarily affects Stocks, Treasuries, Fed funds futures, USD. Its typical market sensitivity is rated High. A result that comes in stronger than consensus expectations generally moves affected markets directionally, while a weaker result can have the opposite effect. The direction depends on the current macro regime and what is already priced into markets. What is the revision risk for the Productivity and Costs? The Productivity and Costs carries high revision risk. Each quarter's measures are first released as a preliminary report and then in a revised release based on more recent source data from BLS, BEA and the Federal Reserve. In the second quarter 2026 revised release, nonfarm business productivity was not revised at the displayed precision, while manufacturing productivity was revised from 1.9 to 2.4 percent. **[Swoopr Editorial Team](https://www.getswoopr.com/authors/swoopr-editorial-team/)** The Swoopr Editorial Team produces independent investment education content. Our research and editorial process is described in our [editorial policy](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/editorial-policy/). Errors and corrections: [corrections policy](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/corrections-policy/).