Business output vs. hours worked since 1947
This chart compares the growth of U.S. nonfarm-business output with total hours worked since 1947. It uses BLS data via FRED and independently indexes both series to the same starting quarter; the widening gap is related to productivity but does not identify its causes.
What does it show?
Business output has grown far faster than total hours worked, reflecting the long-run rise in output per hour.
Methodology
Quarterly seasonally adjusted BLS nonfarm-business indexes via FRED: real value-added output for all workers (OUTNFB) and hours worked for all workers (HOANBS). Each source index is divided by its own first common 1947 Q1 value and multiplied by 100, putting long-run cumulative change on a common baseline. Hours cover employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. The widening or narrowing gap is an accounting relationship related to output per hour; it does not by itself identify technology, labor intensity, or any other cause.