Manufacturing continued its strong performance in boosting productivity and competitiveness during the fourth quarter of 2010 according to revised Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today, reports the National Association of Manufacturers.

 

Manufacturing led the economy in both the fourth quarter of 2010 and the full year.  For the fourth quarter, productivity (output per hour) in the manufacturing sector increased a very strong 5.9 percent, compared to the 2.3 percent increase in productivity for the economy as a whole. And for the full year of 2010, manufacturing productivity rose a phenomenal 6.7 percent, much faster than the 3.8 percent rate for the whole economy.

 

The manufacturing productivity increase for 2010 was nearly double the long-term average of 3.7 percent.  The productivity of American manufacturing is so strong that the average U.S. factory worker produced 43 percent more in the fourth quarter of 2010 than 10 years ago. 

 

The rapid growth in productivity has helped U.S. competitiveness, in that while manufacturing labor compensation per hour rose 2 percent in 2010, unit labor costs in manufacturing fell 4.4 percent.