Productivity And Costs — 1996-09-10

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 second quarter of 1996. The revised seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the second quarter were: 1.1 percent in the business sector, and 0.5 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors, productivity growth was slower than in the first quarter of 1996, when output per hour increased at annual rates of 2.0 percent in the business sector and 1.8 percent in the nonfarm business sector. The modest second-quarter increases in productivity resulted from strong growth in both output and hours. 2.2 percent in manufacturing, 3.9 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 0.5 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing.