P.M. BRIEFING : U.S. Non-Farm Productivity Down
Productivity in the non-farm business sector of the economy fell at an annual rate of 1.1% in the first quarter, helping trigger a significant increase in unit labor costs, the government reported today.
The Labor Department’s revised data for first-quarter productivity should prove disturbing to analysts who have said improved output per hour by American workers is essential to curb inflation and to make up for labor shortages in some fields.
Output rose 2.2% while hours worked climbed 3.4%.
That compared to a 1% gain in productivity on an annual basis in the fourth quarter of 1988 and a 1.5% gain reported for all of last year.
Unit labor costs rose 6.6% in the quarter on an annual basis, up substantially from the 4.1% increase reported in the fourth quarter of 1988.
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