The gap between productivity and a typical worker's compensation has increased dramatically since 1979: Productivity growth and hourly compensation growth, 1948–2019
| Year | Real production worker comp, CPI-U-RS | Productivity |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1949 | 1.6% | 1.7% |
| 1950 | 6.2% | 8.6% |
| 1951 | 11.1% | 10.9% |
| 1952 | 10.8% | 14.3% |
| 1953 | 17.7% | 18.4% |
| 1954 | 16.3% | 21.3% |
| 1955 | 22.6% | 25.8% |
| 1956 | 29.5% | 26.4% |
| 1957 | 32.3% | 30.2% |
| 1958 | 31.0% | 34.0% |
| 1959 | 35.6% | 38.2% |
| 1960 | 38.3% | 40.8% |
| 1961 | 39.2% | 45.4% |
| 1962 | 45.3% | 50.5% |
| 1963 | 46.2% | 55.8% |
| 1964 | 55.9% | 60.6% |
| 1965 | 59.9% | 65.4% |
| 1966 | 62.3% | 70.3% |
| 1967 | 64.2% | 73.0% |
| 1968 | 68.4% | 78.3% |
| 1969 | 71.8% | 79.5% |
| 1970 | 74.0% | 83.1% |
| 1971 | 78.7% | 90.0% |
| 1972 | 88.3% | 94.8% |
| 1973 | 88.0% | 99.4% |
| 1974 | 84.1% | 97.6% |
| 1975 | 84.0% | 103.1% |
| 1976 | 86.3% | 107.9% |
| 1977 | 89.9% | 110.2% |
| 1978 | 92.6% | 112.1% |
| 1979 | 90.2% | 112.5% |
| 1980 | 85.1% | 112.8% |
| 1981 | 84.4% | 117.1% |
| 1982 | 84.7% | 117.2% |
| 1983 | 85.5% | 123.1% |
| 1984 | 84.1% | 127.9% |
| 1985 | 83.3% | 131.9% |
| 1986 | 84.3% | 137.3% |
| 1987 | 81.8% | 138.4% |
| 1988 | 81.1% | 141.8% |
| 1989 | 81.0% | 144.1% |
| 1990 | 79.5% | 147.9% |
| 1991 | 79.2% | 150.8% |
| 1992 | 80.3% | 159.9% |
| 1993 | 80.6% | 161.1% |
| 1994 | 81.0% | 162.9% |
| 1995 | 79.9% | 164.6% |
| 1996 | 80.0% | 169.7% |
| 1997 | 82.0% | 174.7% |
| 1998 | 86.3% | 181.1% |
| 1999 | 88.8% | 189.4% |
| 2000 | 89.8% | 196.8% |
| 2001 | 92.5% | 203.3% |
| 2002 | 96.3% | 212.6% |
| 2003 | 98.0% | 223.2% |
| 2004 | 97.2% | 231.8% |
| 2005 | 96.3% | 238.5% |
| 2006 | 96.3% | 241.7% |
| 2007 | 97.9% | 245.3% |
| 2008 | 98.0% | 249.2% |
| 2009 | 105.6% | 260.2% |
| 2010 | 107.3% | 269.6% |
| 2011 | 104.8% | 269.8% |
| 2012 | 102.9% | 271.5% |
| 2013 | 104.9% | 273.7% |
| 2014 | 105.5% | 276.1% |
| 2015 | 108.9% | 279.1% |
| 2016 | 110.7% | 280.3% |
| 2017 | 111.0% | 284.3% |
| 2018 | 112.4% | 287.9% |
| 2019 | 115.4% | 293.4% |
Notes: Data are for compensation (wages and benefits) of production/nonsupervisory workers in the private sector and gross productivity of the total economy.
Source: EPI analysis of unpublished Total Economy Productivity data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Labor Productivity and Costs program, wage data from the BLS Current Employment Statistics adjusted to compensation using Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Product Accounts ratio of compensation to wages. Compensation deflated by BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U-RS)
Updated from Figure A in Raising America’s Pay: Why It’s Our Central Economic Policy Challenge (Bivens et al. 2014)
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