Output per tech worker
Are fewer people producing more?
Contributes to: Are fewer people needed?. Signal score: 21 / 100. Relative weight within this question: 1.
The information sector is not just software. It also includes telecoms, publishing, film and broadcasting.
The cause is open. Output per worker was already growing about 7% a year before the pandemic, and layoffs, interest rates or pricing can raise it too, so only the gain above that earlier trend counts toward the score. These figures are US only.
Observed trend
US information sector real output and employment, both set to 100 in Q4 2022.
Real output · 2019-01 – 2026-04
Solid: Real output. Dashed: Employment (same scale).
Milestones provide timing context, not evidence of causation.
View data table
| Period / observation | Real output | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-01 | 73 | 91.7 |
| 2019-04 | 75.9 | 92.2 |
| 2019-07 | 77.7 | 92.4 |
| 2019-10 | 78.4 | 92.9 |
| 2020-01 | 77.3 | 93.6 |
| 2020-04 | 76.7 | 84.6 |
| 2020-07 | 81.3 | 85.5 |
| 2020-10 | 82.4 | 86.9 |
| 2021-01 | 85.5 | 89 |
| 2021-04 | 89.3 | 90.6 |
| 2021-07 | 91.5 | 93.5 |
| 2021-10 | 95.4 | 95.2 |
| 2022-01 | 94.2 | 96.6 |
| 2022-04 | 95.9 | 98.5 |
| 2022-07 | 98.1 | 99.8 |
| 2022-10 | 100 | 100 |
| 2023-01 | 102 | 98.4 |
| 2023-04 | 104.5 | 97.8 |
| 2023-07 | 108.9 | 96.2 |
| 2023-10 | 111.1 | 95.4 |
| 2024-01 | 112 | 95.3 |
| 2024-04 | 113.5 | 94.6 |
| 2024-07 | 115.5 | 93.8 |
| 2024-10 | 117 | 93.1 |
| 2025-01 | 119.2 | 92.6 |
| 2025-04 | 122.7 | 92.3 |
| 2025-07 | 125.9 | 92.2 |
| 2025-10 | 127.6 | 91.8 |
| 2026-01 | 132.4 | 90.3 |
| 2026-04 | 135.3 | 89.5 |
What it measures
- Metric
- US information sector real output per worker, Q4 2022 = 100
- Solved if
- Output keeps rising while fewer people produce it
- Signal score
- 21 / 100. Output per worker is +16% against its 2015 to 2019 trend. Doubling that trend scores 100%. How it is scored
- Status rule
- More per worker when output per worker is higher than a year before.
What the numbers show
Output is +35% and employment is -10% since Q4 2022, but most of the gain follows an older trend.
- Output per worker already grew about 7% a year from 2015 to 2019.
- The latest figure is +16% against that trend, and that gap is what counts toward the score.
Update history
The reading on each date we checked, separate from the historical observations above.
| Date | Value | Year over year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-02 | 151.2 | +14% | More per worker |
| 2026-11-01 | 151.2 | +14% | More per worker |
Source
| Source | Role | Measures | Latest data |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEA and BLS information sector data | Scored measurement | US information sector real output and employment | Q2 2026 |