Productivity And Costs — 1995-03-08

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 annual changes for the full year 1994. In the fourth quarter, productivity increased moderately in both the business and nonfarm business sectors. Percent changes in business and nonfarm business productivity were: For the year 1994, productivity increases in both sectors were somewhat greater than in 1993. These productivity improvements, combined with modest increases in hourly compensation, led to the smallest increases in unit labor costs in three decades. Fourth-quarter productivity and related measures are summarized in table A and appear in detail in tables 1 through 5. Manufacturing productivity grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter as both output and hours increased at the fastest rates since the fourth quarter of 1987.