Labor Productivity
119.4
· Jan 2026
econ
scout
1948-49 Recession · Nov 1948 – Oct 1949
1953-54 Recession · Jul 1953 – May 1954
1957-58 Recession · Aug 1957 – Apr 1958
1960-61 Recession · Apr 1960 – Feb 1961
1969-70 Recession · Dec 1969 – Nov 1970
1973-75 Recession · Nov 1973 – Mar 1975
1980 Recession · Jan 1980 – Jul 1980
1981-82 Recession · Jul 1981 – Nov 1982
1990-91 Recession · Jul 1990 – Mar 1991
2001 Recession · Mar 2001 – Nov 2001
Global Financial Crisis · Dec 2007 – Jun 2009
COVID-19 Recession · Feb 2020 – Apr 2020
40
60
80
100
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
119.4
Labor Productivity — one value per year; US recessions are shaded on the chart.
Year
Labor Productivity
1947
23.0
1948
23.2
1949
24.1
1950
25.8
1951
26.4
1952
26.9
1953
27.2
1954
28.3
1955
28.9
1956
29.0
1957
29.8
1958
31.0
1959
31.3
1960
31.3
1961
33.4
1962
34.6
1963
35.8
1964
36.2
1965
38.3
1966
38.9
1967
39.7
1968
40.9
1969
40.7
1970
41.7
1971
43.1
1972
45.2
1973
45.6
1974
45.3
1975
46.9
1976
48.3
1977
48.7
1978
50.1
1979
49.4
1980
49.8
1981
49.9
1982
50.2
1983
52.4
1984
53.2
1985
54.4
1986
55.6
1987
56.3
1988
56.9
1989
57.4
1990
57.9
1991
59.8
1992
62.4
1993
62.1
1994
62.6
1995
63.3
1996
64.6
1997
66.2
1998
68.6
1999
71.5
2000
73.4
2001
75.6
2002
77.7
2003
82.1
2004
83.4
2005
84.8
2006
85.7
2007
87.7
2008
87.9
2009
93.6
2010
95.0
2011
94.6
2012
94.9
2013
96.8
2014
97.1
2015
97.8
2016
99.3
2017
101.0
2018
101.5
2019
105.1
2020
110.6
2021
111.6
2022
110.0
2023
113.9
2024
116.4
2025
119.3
2026
119.4
Source: FRED · OPHNFB · econscout.com