U.S. Labor Productivity Revised To Unchanged In Q1
June 05 2017 - 5:22AM
RTTF2
Revised data released by the Labor Department on Monday showed
that U.S. labor productivity was unchanged in the first three
months of the year.
The Labor Department said productivity came in flat in the first
quarter compared to the previously reported 0.6 percent decrease.
The revision matched economist estimates.
The upward revision to productivity, a measure of output per
hour, came as output increased by more than initially
estimated.
The report said output climbed by 1.7 percent versus the
previously reported 1.0 percent increase. Hours worked also rose by
1.7 percent, slightly faster than the initial estimate of 1.6
percent growth.
Productivity jumped by 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter, as
output spiked by 2.7 percent and hours worked climbed by 1.0
percent.
The report also said unit labor costs surged up by 2.2 percent
in the first quarter versus the previously reported 3.0 percent
jump. Economists had expected the pace of growth to be revised to
2.5 percent.
The downwardly revised pace of cost growth primarily reflected
the revision to productivity, although the increase in hourly
compensation was also downwardly revised to 2.2 percent from 2.4
percent.
Real hourly compensation, which takes changes in consumer prices
into account, fell by 0.9 percent compared to the previously
reported 0.8 percent drop.
Revised data showed that unit labor costs plunged by 4.6 percent
in the fourth quarter amid a 3.0 percent slump in hourly
compensation. Unit labor costs were previously said to have risen
by 1.3 percent.
Compared to the same quarter a year ago, productivity was up by
1.2 percent in the first quarter, as output climbed by 2.5 percent
and hours worked increased by 1.3 percent.
Unit labor costs were up by 1.1 percent year-over-year in the
first quarter amid a 2.3 percent jump in hourly compensation.
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