Material Is Embargoed — 1998-08-11

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported preliminary productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all persons-- for the second quarter of 1998. The preliminary seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the second quarter were: -0.6 percent in the business sector, and -0.2 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both the business and nonfarm business sectors, the decline in productivity growth in the second quarter was the first since the first quarter of 1995. In the first quarter of 1998, output per hour of all persons (as revised) rose 4.1 percent in the business sector and 3.5 percent in the nonfarm business sector. 3.3 percent in manufacturing, 5.7 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 0.2 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The data in this release reflect the regular multi-year GDP revisions released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce on July 31.