Material Is Embargoed — 2000-06-06

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 first quarter of 2000. The revised seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the first quarter were: 1.8 percent in the business sector, and 2.4 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors, the first-quarter productivity gains were the same as those reported initially on May 4. (These data do not reflect the employment benchmark of the BLS Current Employment Statistics released on June 2.) In manufacturing, the revised productivity changes in the first quarter were: 7.3 percent in manufacturing, 11.3 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 1.9 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. The increase in manufacturing productivity reflected a 6.8-percent rise in output and a drop of 0.5 percent in hours worked. The first-quarter productivity increase was smaller than the 10.8-percent increase recorded in the fourth quarter of 1999.