Thursday, December 4, 1997. — 1997-12-04

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 third quarter of 1997. The seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity growth in the third quarter were: 4.0 percent in the business sector, and 4.1 percent in the nonfarm business sector. The third-quarter increase in labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector was the largest since the fourth quarter of 1992. In manufacturing, revised productivity increases in the third quarter were: 9.3 percent in manufacturing, 13.1 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 5.2 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. The third-quarter productivity increase in manufacturing occurred as output rose at a 7.2 percent rate and hours of all persons working in the sector fell 1.9 percent. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 18 percent of U.S.