Pay vs Productivity
Worker pay relative to output per hour, indexed to 100 at 2017.
| Year | Pay vs Productivity |
|---|---|
| 1947 | 151 |
| 1948 | 154 |
| 1949 | 152 |
| 1950 | 149 |
| 1951 | 147 |
| 1952 | 151 |
| 1953 | 154 |
| 1954 | 153 |
| 1955 | 156 |
| 1956 | 162 |
| 1957 | 161 |
| 1958 | 157 |
| 1959 | 159 |
| 1960 | 163 |
| 1961 | 157 |
| 1962 | 156 |
| 1963 | 154 |
| 1964 | 154 |
| 1965 | 149 |
| 1966 | 150 |
| 1967 | 151 |
| 1968 | 152 |
| 1969 | 154 |
| 1970 | 151 |
| 1971 | 149 |
| 1972 | 148 |
| 1973 | 146 |
| 1974 | 146 |
| 1975 | 142 |
| 1976 | 142 |
| 1977 | 143 |
| 1978 | 141 |
| 1979 | 142 |
| 1980 | 141 |
| 1981 | 140 |
| 1982 | 141 |
| 1983 | 135 |
| 1984 | 134 |
| 1985 | 134 |
| 1986 | 136 |
| 1987 | 134 |
| 1988 | 134 |
| 1989 | 131 |
| 1990 | 131 |
| 1991 | 130 |
| 1992 | 128 |
| 1993 | 126 |
| 1994 | 124 |
| 1995 | 123 |
| 1996 | 121 |
| 1997 | 122 |
| 1998 | 122 |
| 1999 | 120 |
| 2000 | 121 |
| 2001 | 119 |
| 2002 | 116 |
| 2003 | 113 |
| 2004 | 112 |
| 2005 | 110 |
| 2006 | 111 |
| 2007 | 108 |
| 2008 | 110 |
| 2009 | 103 |
| 2010 | 101 |
| 2011 | 99 |
| 2012 | 102 |
| 2013 | 98 |
| 2014 | 100 |
| 2015 | 101 |
| 2016 | 100 |
| 2017 | 100 |
| 2018 | 100 |
| 2019 | 98 |
| 2020 | 101 |
| 2021 | 98 |
| 2022 | 95 |
| 2023 | 94 |
| 2024 | 93 |
| 2025 | 93 |
| 2026 | 92 |
Hover the line to read any month. Drag across the chart to zoom; double-click to reset.
Source: FRED · COMPRNFB/OPHNFB · series · Jan 1947 to Jan 2026 · latest-revised
Refreshed Jul 31, 2026 from FRED.
Worker pay relative to output per hour, indexed to 100 at 2017.
Real hourly compensation divided by output per hour, indexed to 100 at the 2017 base.
Source: FRED · Jan 2026 · Full lesson → Learn
About the bands. Shaded spans are NBER-dated US recessions, drawn as factual overlays. They mark when the economy contracted, not why. Lining an event up with a move is not evidence it caused the move.
Read across
No single number is the economy. These measure nearby parts of it — add one to compare, or open it on its own.
- Real Compensation per Hour The pay leg of the ratio, on its own.
- Labor Productivity The output-per-hour leg of the ratio.
- Labor Share of Output A related read on how output splits between workers and capital.