Productivity And Costs — 2007-08-07

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 second quarter of 2007. The preliminary seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the second quarter were: 2.6 percent in the business sector and 1.8 percent in the nonfarm business sector. These rates of growth are higher than those for the first quarter of 2007, when productivity increased 0.2 percent in the business sector and 0.7 percent in the nonfarm business sector. 1.6 percent in manufacturing, 4.7 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and -1.9 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. Productivity in the total manufacturing sector grew 1.6 percent in the second quarter of 2007, as output increased 3.5 percent and hours increased 1.8 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates). Growth in output and productivity was concentrated in the durable goods subsector. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 12 percent of U.S.