Material Is Embargoed — 1999-12-07

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 third quarter of 1999. The seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity growth in the third quarter were: 4.7 percent in the business sector, and 4.9 percent in the nonfarm business sector. The increase in labor productivity for the business sector was the largest since a similar increase in the second quarter of 1996. In the nonfarm business sector, the third-quarter increase in labor productivity was the largest since a 7.4-percent rise in the fourth quarter of 1992. In manufacturing, revised productivity increases in the third quarter were: 3.9 percent in manufacturing, 4.5 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 3.8 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. The third-quarter productivity increase in manufacturing occurred as output rose 4.2 percent and hours of all persons working in the sector grew 0.3 percent.