Material Is Embargoed — 2000-05-04

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 first quarter of 2000. The seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the first quarter were: 1.8 percent in the business sector and 2.4 percent in the nonfarm business sector. These productivity gains were smaller than the gains of the previous quarter (6.6 percent in the business sector and 6.9 percent in the nonfarm business sector, as revised). Output growth in the first quarter, 6.0 percent in both sectors, slowed somewhat from the rapid fourth-quarter pace, and hours of all persons in the first quarter grew more rapidly. First- quarter measures are summarized in table A and appear in detail in tables 1 through 5. 6.9 percent in manufacturing, 9.9 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 2.7 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing.