Productivity And Costs — 1997-09-09

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported revised productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all persons--for the second quarter of 1997. The revised seasonally- adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the second quarter were: 2.7 percent in the business sector, and 2.7 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors, productivity growth was stronger than in the first quarter of 1997, when output per hour increased at annual rates of 1.8 percent in the business sector and 1.4 percent in the nonfarm business sector. The second-quarter productivity increases were greater than first reported because output was revised upward and the increases in hours were revised down. (See table C.) 2.4 percent in manufacturing, 4.8 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and -0.3 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing.