Productivity And Costs — 1997-08-12

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 1997. The preliminary seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the second quarter were: 0.7 percent in the business sector, and 0.6 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both the business and nonfarm business sectors, productivity growth in the second quarter was slower than in the first quarter, as the increases in both output and hours slowed. In the first quarter of 1997, output per hour of all persons (as revised) rose 1.8 percent in the business sector and 1.4 percent in the nonfarm business sector. 3.2 percent in manufacturing, 5.1 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 0.9 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. The second-quarter increase in manufacturing productivity was the result of a 4.4 percent increase in output and a 1.2 percent rise in hours of all persons.