Productivity and Costs - released 8:30

Productivity and Costs_02_04_2010 -

Productivity and Costs - 8:30

Full report here PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS Third Quarter 2009, Revised Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at an 8.1 percent annual rate during the third quarter of 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today (tables A and 2). This was the largest gain in productivity since the third quarter of 2003, and reflects a 2.9 percent increase in output and a 4.8 percent decline in hours worked. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) Labor productivity is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of the combined hours worked of all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. The productivity measures released today were based on more recent and more complete data than were available for the preliminary report issued last month (see Revised measures). Unit labor costs in nonfarm businesses fell 2.5 percent in the third quarter of 2009, as productivity grew at a faster rate (8.1 percent) than hourly compensation (5.4 percent). Unit labor costs declined 1.4 percent over the last four quarters (tables A and 2). BLS defines unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity; increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor costs and increases in output per hour tend to reduce them. Manufacturing sector productivity grew 13.4 percent in the third quarter of 2009, as output rose 8.4 percent and hours worked fell 4.4 percent (tables A and 3). The third quarter gain in manufacturing productivity was the largest in the series, which begins in the second quarter of 1987. Over the last four quarters, manufacturing productivity grew 3.0 percent. Manufacturing unit labor costs fell 6.1 percent in the third quarter of 2009, but rose 3.0 percent over the last four quarters. The data sources and methods used in the preparation of the manufacturing output series differ from those used in preparing the business and nonfarm business output series, and these measures are not directly comparable. See Technical Notes for more information on data sources. Revised measures Table B presents previous and revised productivity and related measures for the major sectors: business, nonfarm business and manufacturing, for the second and third quarters of 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, nonfarm business productivity was revised down from 9.5 percent to 8.1 percent, reflecting a downward revision to output and an upward revision to hours. Unit labor costs declined 2.5 percent rather than falling 5.2 percent as previously reported; this upward revision was due both to the downward revision to productivity and the 1.6 percentage-point upward revision to hourly compensation. In the manufacturing sector, upward revisions to both output and hours affected productivity, which was revised slightly down by 0.2 percentage point. In the second quarter of 2009, nonfarm business productivity was not revised. However, unit labor costs were revised to show zero growth during the second quarter rather than decreasing 6.1 percent as previously reported. This upward revision to unit labor costs was due solely to the large upward revision to hourly compensation. In the manufacturing sector, second quarter productivity was not revised; unit labor costs were revised upward by 1.3 percentage points. More at link with formatted tables

Productivity and Costs - 8:30 am

Full report here PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS Third Quarter 2009, Preliminary Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 9.5 percent annual rate during the third quarter of 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was the largest gain in productivity since the third quarter of 2003, when it rose 9.7 percent. Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours of all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. Output increased 4.0 percent and hours worked decreased 5.0 percent in the third quarter of 2009 (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates). From the third quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009, nonfarm business output fell 3.5 percent and hours worked fell faster, 7.5 percent, resulting in a productivity increase of 4.3 percent (tables A and 2). The four-quarter decline in hours was the largest in the series, which begins in 1948. Nonfarm business productivity rose 1.8 percent in 2008, and 2.6 percent per year on average during the 2001-2007 period corresponding to the last complete business cycle. Unit labor costs in nonfarm businesses fell 5.2 percent in the third quarter of 2009; the increase in productivity outpaced the increase in hourly compensation. Unit labor costs declined 3.6 percent over the last four quarters--the largest decrease since the series began in 1948 (tables A and 2). BLS defines unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity; increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor costs and increases in output per hour tend to reduce them. Productivity increased 9.8 percent in the business sector in the third quarter of 2009. This was the largest increase in the series since the second quarter of 1972. Unit labor costs decreased 5.1 percent during the third quarter of 2009 (tables A and 1). Manufacturing sector productivity grew 13.6 percent in the third quarter of 2009, as output increased 7.7 percent despite a 5.2 percent decrease in hours worked. This was the largest increase in the quarterly productivity series, which begins in 1987. Over the last four quarters, manufacturing productivity increased 3.1 percent as output and hours declined 10.8 percent and 13.5 percent respectively (tables A and 3). Manufacturing sector productivity increased 0.8 percent in 2008, and at an average annual rate of 4.0 percent from 2001 to 2007. In the third quarter of 2009, changes in productivity, output, and hours were larger in durable goods producing industries than in nondurable goods industries (tables A, 4 and 5). Manufacturing unit labor costs fell at a 7.1 percent annual rate in the third quarter of 2009, but increased 2.3 percent over the last four quarters (tables A and 3). The data sources and methods used in the preparation of the manufacturing output series differ from those used in preparing the business and nonfarm business output series, and these measures are not directly comparable. See Technical Notes for further information on data sources. Revised measures In the second quarter of 2009, nonfarm business productivity growth was revised up to 6.9 percent, reflecting declines in output and hours of 1.1 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively. Unit labor costs were revised down due to the upward revision in productivity. In the manufacturing sector, revised second quarter productivity growth was 6.8 percent, a 1.9 percentage point upward revision. Manufacturing unit labor costs declined 1.6 percent, rather than rising 0.2 percent as reported September 2. In the nonfinancial corporate sector, revised data for the second quarter of 2009 show that productivity increased 6.6 percent, as output per hour was revised up along with output; hours were unrevised. After revision, unit labor costs fell 4.5 percent in the second quarter, but rose 1.4 percent from the second quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2009. Unit profits grew at a 23.0 percent annual rate in the second quarter of 2009. More at link with formatted tables

Productivity and costs - 8:30am

Full report here Transmission of this material is embargoed until USDL-09-1066 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, September 2, 2009 Technical information: (202) 691-5606 • dprweb@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/lpc Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS Second Quarter 2009, Revised Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 6.6 percent annual rate during the second quarter of 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was the largest productivity increase since the third quarter of 2003, and reflects declines of 1.5 percent in output and 7.6 percent in hours worked. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the second quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2009, output fell 5.5 percent while hours fell 7.2 percent, yielding an increase in productivity of 1.9 percent (tables A and 2). Nonfarm business productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.5 percent from 2000 through 2008. Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours of all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. Unit labor costs in nonfarm businesses fell 5.9 percent in the second quarter of 2009, with the decline due entirely to the increase in productivity; hourly compensation increased slightly. Unit labor costs declined 1.2 percent over the last four quarters, as a 1.9 percent increase in output per hour was partially offset by a 0.7 percent increase in hourly compensation (tables A and 2). BLS defines unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity; increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor costs and increases in output per hour tend to reduce them. Productivity increased 6.5 percent in the business sector in the second quarter of 2009. Unit labor costs decreased 6.0 percent during the second quarter of 2009 (tables A and 1). Manufacturing sector productivity grew 4.9 percent in the second quarter of 2009, as output fell 9.8 percent and hours worked decreased 14.0 percent; declines in output and hours were much larger in durable goods industries than in nondurable goods industries (tables A, 3, 4 and 5). The productivity gain in the manufacturing sector was the largest since the first quarter of 2005. Unit labor costs in manufacturing edged up 0.2 percent in the second quarter of 2009 and increased 6.7 percent over the last four quarters (tables A and 3). The data sources and methods used in the preparation of the manufacturing output series differ from those used in preparing the business and nonfarm business output series, and these measures are not directly comparable. See Technical Notes for further information on data sources. Revised measures Table B presents previous and revised productivity and related measures for the major sectors: business, nonfarm business and manufacturing, for the first and second quarters of 2009. In the second quarter of 2009, nonfarm business productivity was revised up by 0.2 percentage point from the estimate published on August 11, reflecting a 0.2 percentage point upward revision to output; hours were not revised. Unit labor costs were revised down by 0.1 percentage point in the second quarter. In the manufacturing sector, productivity was revised down by 0.4 percentage point in the second quarter. In the first quarter of 2009, nonfarm business productivity was not revised. Unit labor costs fell 5.0 percent rather than decreasing 2.7 percent as previously reported, due to a 2.3 percent downward revision to hourly compensation. In the manufacturing sector, first quarter productivity was unrevised. Unit labor costs were revised down by 2.6 percentage points. From the first quarter of 1987, unit labor costs, hourly compensation, and real hourly compensation were revised in the manufacturing sector and its subsectors. This was the result of addressing a series break between 2000 and 2001 in the manufacturing compensation series published on August 11. The SIC-based data prior to 2001 have been linked to the NAICS-based series. This revision eliminates the break in series at 2001 for the manufacturing sector data based on compensation; percent changes in 2001 were revised substantially. There were small revisions to percent changes in other years and quarters. Because the base year for the indexes (1992) was adjusted, index values for the entire series were subject to revision. Revised quarterly and annual series for recent years appear in tables 3-5 and revised annual indexes are displayed in appendix tables 1-3. Full historical annual and quarterly measures can be found on the productivity and costs home page https://www.bls.gov/lpc/#data.

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Productivity and Costs - 8:30AM

Full report here Transmission of this material is embargoed until USDL-09-0933 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Technical information: (202) 691-5606 dprweb@bls.gov www.bls.gov/lpc Media contact: (202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS Second Quarter 2009, Preliminary The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported preliminary productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all persons--for the second quarter of 2009. The seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the second quarter were: 6.3 percent in the business sector and 6.4 percent in the nonfarm business sector. Productivity gains in both sectors were the largest since the third quarter of 2003, and were due to hours worked declining faster than output. In manufacturing, the preliminary productivity changes in the second quarter were: 5.3 percent in manufacturing, 3.9 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 2.0 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. The increases in productivity in all manufacturing sectors were the result of hours falling faster than output. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 11 percent of U.S. business-sector employment, tend to vary more from quarter to quarter than data for the aggregate business and nonfarm business sectors. Second-quarter measures are summarized in table A and appear in detail in tables 1 through 5. The data sources and methods used in the preparation of the manufacturing series differ from those used in preparing the business and nonfarm business series, and these measures are not directly comparable. Output measures for business and nonfarm business are based on measures of gross domestic product prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Quarterly output measures for manufacturing reflect indexes of industrial production independently prepared by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See Technical Notes for further information on data sources. More at link