Material Is Embargoed — 2000-11-02

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 third quarter of 2000. The preliminary seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity growth in the third quarter were: 3.2 percent in the business sector and 3.8 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both the business and the nonfarm business sectors, productivity increases in the third quarter were smaller than those recorded in the second quarter of 2000 (as revised). 6.4 percent in manufacturing, 9.6 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 2.0 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. The increase in manufacturing productivity was higher than the 5.7- percent rise reported for the previous quarter (as revised). Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 17 percent of U.S. business sector employment, tend to vary more from quarter to quarter than data for the more aggregate business and nonfarm business sectors.