2008 Third Quarter (Revised) Productivity and Costs — 2008-12-03

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 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity growth in the third quarter were: 1.5 percent in the business sector and 1.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors, hours were revised down more than output, leading to productivity increases which are 0.2 percentage point higher than in preliminary estimates published November 6. In manufacturing, revised productivity changes in the third quarter were: -2.7 percent in manufacturing, 2.9 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and -10.2 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. In the manufacturing sector, productivity fell 1.7 percentage points more than was reported on November 6, as a 2.0 percent downward revision to output was partially offset by a 0.4 percent downward revision to hours. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 12 percent of U.S.