US productivity and labour share (BLS): Q2 2026 data, revised
Why it matters
The release states the labour share — the percentage of output that reaches workers as compensation — which is the measure any claim about AI substituting for labour has to move. It also sets unit labour costs, the Fed’s cleanest read on whether pay growth is inflationary.
What to watch
- The labour share for Q2 2026, and whether it sets a new low in a series that begins in Q1 1947.
- Productivity growth against hourly compensation — the gap between them IS the change in labour share.
- Unit labour costs, and the revision to the prior quarter’s figures.
- Read the level with its sector in mind: nonfarm business excludes government, nonprofits and households, so it is not a whole-economy labour share.
Result captured
US labour share (nonfarm business), Q2 2026: 52.8% of output — the lowest level in the series, which begins in Q1 1947. Labour productivity +1.4%, unit labour costs +1.2%. Source: BLS Productivity and Costs release (revised).
Nonfarm business sector — excludes general government, nonprofits and households, so this is not a whole-economy labour share and is not comparable like-for-like with whole-economy measures.
Briefing
The labour share has collapsed to its lowest point in 79 years of data, signalling that productivity gains are flowing entirely to capital rather than labour—a structural shift that rewrites assumptions about wage-setting power and inflation dynamics across the developed world.
Sources
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