Material Is Embargoed — 1998-09-03

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 second quarter of 1998. The seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the second quarter were: -0.2 percent in the business sector, and 0.1 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors, changes in productivity were revised upward compared with results reported on Aug. 11, as increases in output were revised up and increases in hours were revised down. (See table C.) Business sector productivity declined in the second quarter of 1998 for the first time since the first quarter of 1995, and output per hour increased slightly in the nonfarm business sector. In manufacturing, the revised productivity changes in the second quarter were: 2.5 percent in manufacturing, 4.7 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and -0.1 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. In manufacturing, the changes in productivity were revised downward compared with preliminary estimates.