Material Is Embargoed — 2006-03-07

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported revised fourth-quarter seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity change--as measured by output per hour of all persons--and revised changes for calendar year 2005. Percent changes in business and nonfarm business productivity were: In the business sector, output per hour was unchanged from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2005, compared to the preliminary estimate of a 0.2 percent decline published February 2. In nonfarm businesses, productivity fell 0.5 percent, slightly less than the 0.6 percent decline reported previously (seasonally adjusted annual rates). Nonfarm business productivity last declined during the first quarter of 2001, when it fell 0.6 percent. On an annual average basis, productivity rose 2.7 percent in the business sector, 0.1 percentage point more than previously reported, and increased 2.9 percent in nonfarm businesses, compared to the preliminary estimate of 2.7 percent.