Accessible Version

Figure 1. U.S. Labor Productivity Growth, by Historical Period

Average Annual Growth in Output per Hour

Period	Percent
1890-1918	1.73
1919-1929	2.73
1930-1947	1.78
1948-1973	3.19
1974-1995	1.53
1996-2003	3.15
2004-2016	1.39

Note: Nonfarm business labor productivity. Breaks in 1890, 1919, and 1930 are National Bureau of Economic Research business cycle peaks. Breaks in 1947, 1973, 1995, and 2003 are from statistical tests in Fernald (2015).

Source: Historical Statistics of the United States (1890-1947); Bureau of Labor Statistics (1948‐2016).

Figure 2. Contributions to the Growth of Labor Productivity

Percentage Points

Period	Labor Productivity Growth	Contribution from Innovation	Contribution from Investment	Contribution from Labor Quality
1948-1973	3.21	2.08	0.94	0.19
1974-1995	1.50	0.53	0.69	0.29
1996-2003	3.25	1.80	1.19	0.26
2004-2016	1.30	0.50	0.55	0.26

Source: John G. Fernald, "A Quarterly, Utilization‐Adjusted Series on Total Factor Productivity," FRBSF Working Paper 2012‐19. Data updated June 5, 2017.

Figure 3. U.S. Research and Development Spending

Share of Gross Domestic Product, Annual
(Percent of GDP)

Period	Business	Government
1970	0.97	1.43
1971	0.93	1.34
1972	0.91	1.29
1973	0.93	1.20
1974	0.96	1.16
1975	0.94	1.14
1976	0.94	1.13
1977	0.94	1.11
1978	0.95	1.08
1979	0.99	1.08
1980	1.08	1.08
1981	1.12	1.08
1982	1.22	1.14
1983	1.24	1.17
1984	1.29	1.18
1985	1.33	1.24
1986	1.33	1.22
1987	1.28	1.23
1988	1.29	1.17
1989	1.33	1.10
1990	1.39	1.06
1991	1.49	1.02
1992	1.47	0.96
1993	1.40	0.91
1994	1.36	0.86
1995	1.45	0.85
1996	1.52	0.81
1997	1.58	0.78
1998	1.63	0.76
1999	1.70	0.72
2000	1.81	0.69
2001	1.77	0.73
2002	1.65	0.76
2003	1.62	0.78
2004	1.56	0.79
2005	1.59	0.77
2006	1.64	0.76
2007	1.70	0.77
2008	1.76	0.84
2009	1.63	0.92
2010	1.56	0.89
2011	1.62	0.87
2012	1.60	0.81
2013	1.67	0.76
2014	1.70	0.72
2015	1.79	0.67

Source: Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development; Bureau of Economic Analysis.