2011 Second Quarter (Revised) Productivity and Costs — 2011-09-01

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased at a 0.7 percent annual rate during the second quarter of 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, with output and hours worked rising 1.3 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011, output increased 2.4 percent while hours rose 1.6 percent, yielding an increase in productivity of 0.7 percent. (See tables A and 2.) Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked of all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. Unit labor costs in nonfarm businesses rose 3.3 percent in the second quarter of 2011, because hourly compensation increased 2.7 percent while productivity decreased 0.7 percent.