2010 Second Quarter (Revised) Productivity and Costs — 2010-09-02

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased at a 1.8 percent annual rate during the second quarter of 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today as hours increased 3.5 percent and output increased 1.6 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) The second-quarter gain in hours worked was the largest since the first quarter of 2006. From the second quarter of 2009 to the second quarter of 2010, productivity and output both grew 3.7 percent and hours were unchanged (tables A and 2). Nonfarm business productivity increased at an average annual rate of 2.5 percent from 2000 through 2009. Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked of all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.