Material Is Embargoed — 1998-11-10

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 third quarter of 1998. The preliminary seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity growth in the third quarter were: 2.4 percent in the business sector, and 2.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both the business and the nonfarm business sectors, productivity increases in the third quarter were larger than those recorded in the second quarter of 1998 (as revised). 3.7 percent in manufacturing, 5.4 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 1.7 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. The 3.7 percent rise in manufacturing productivity occurred as output dropped slightly and hours of all persons working in the sector fell more. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 18 percent of U.S. business sector employment, tend to vary more from quarter to quarter than data for the more aggregate business and nonfarm business sectors.