Productivity And Costs — 1994-06-15

PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS First Quarter 1994 Business, Nonfarm Business, Manufacturing, and Nonfinancial Corporations The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported revised productivity datajas measured by output per hour of all personsjfor the first quarter of 1994. The revised seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the first quarter were: 1.1 percent in the business sector, and 1.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors, productivity and output gains were much smaller than in the fourth quarter. 6.9 percent in manufacturing, 8.5 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 4.4 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. Although slower than during the fourth quarter of 1993, the strong first- quarter productivity advance in manufacturing reflects continued strong output growth in durable goods industries along with improved output growth among nondurables. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 20 percent of U.S.