Material Is Embargoed — 2000-12-06

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 2000. The seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity growth in the third quarter were: 2.8 percent in the business sector, and 3.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector. The increases in labor productivity for the business and nonfarm business sectors are the result of increases in output combined with small declines in the hours of all persons working in the sector. In manufacturing, revised productivity increases in the third quarter were: 7.3 percent in manufacturing, 11.2 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 1.7 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. The third-quarter productivity increase in manufacturing occurred as output rose 4.1 percent and hours of all persons working in the sector dropped 2.9 percent. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 17 percent of U.S.