Unit Labor Costs

Productivity contracted in the third quarter of this year according to revised data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Their measure of output per labor hour fell 0.2 percent from July through September 2019 (originally down 0.3 percent).

After more data were collected from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a revised report on third-quarter 2017 productivity and unit labor costs was released.  Productivity was unchanged in the revision, and unit labor costs figures were revised marginally.  Output per labor hour held steady at 3.0 percent in the revision, but this is nearly double the pace in the prior quarter.  Uni

America’s productivity jumped from July through September of 2017 according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Output-per-labor-hour increased 3.0 percent on an annualized basis, doubling the prior quarter’s pace.  This jump is the best quarterly improvement since the third quarter of 2014.  Additionally, unit labor costs rose as employee compensation

After more complete data were collected, it now appears America was more productive than first estimated from April through June of 2017.  New estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate productivity increased 1.5 percent, upwardly revised from 0.9 percent; this is a stark contrast to the first quarter’s productivity gain of just 0.1 percent.  Additionally, unit labor