Thursday, May 02, 2013
Tweet[IWS] BLS: PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS First Quarter 2013, Preliminary [2 May 2013]
IWS Documented News Service
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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS First Quarter 2013, Preliminary [2 May 2013]
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm
or
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/prod2.pdf
[full-text, 12 pages]
and
Supplemental Files Table of Contents
http://www.bls.gov/web/prod2.supp.toc.htm
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 0.7 percent annual
rate during the first quarter of 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. The increase in productivity reflects increases of 2.5 percent
in output and 1.8 percent in hours worked. (All quarterly percent changes in
this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the first quarter of
2012 to the first quarter of 2013, productivity increased 0.9 percent as
output and hours worked increased 2.5 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
(See table A.)
Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of
real output by an index of hours worked of all persons, including employees,
proprietors, and unpaid family workers.
Unit labor costs in nonfarm businesses increased 0.5 percent in the first
quarter of 2013, as an increase in hourly compensation was greater than the
increase in productivity. Unit labor costs rose 0.6 percent over the last four
quarters. (See table A.)
BLS defines unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor
productivity; increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor
costs and increases in output per hour tend to reduce them.
Manufacturing sector productivity increased 3.8 percent in the first quarter
of 2013, as output grew 5.6 percent and hours rose 1.7 percent. Output growth
was robust in both manufacturing subsectors, while virtually all hours growth
occurred in durable manufacturing. Over the last four quarters, manufacturing
sector productivity increased 1.7 percent as output and hours worked rose 2.6
percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Unit labor costs in manufacturing
decreased 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2013 and increased 1.6 percent
from the same quarter a year ago. (See tables A and 3.)
AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
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