Business didn’t improve productivity rates in 1986.

For the first time in six years, the nation’s corporations--excluding banks and other financial institutions--failed to improve their productivity in 1986, the government said. While overall business productivity rose 0.7% for the year and manufacturing productivity increased a much healthier 2.7%, other non-financial corporations lagged behind, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Non-financial corporations, which are responsible for 59% of the nation’s gross national product, produced 1.8% more goods and services in 1986 but required a like 1.8% increase in the number of hours worked by their employees.