Productivity drops in second quarter

Area Development Site and Facility Planning, Sep 1998

THE PRODUCTIVITY of U.S. workers fell in the second quarter, not only confounding the expectations of many experts but also representing the first productivity decline in more than three years. According to the Labor Department, worker productivity declined at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.2 percent between April and June. One result of the productivity drop was a boost in the unitlabor cost, which was up 4.1 percent for the quarter.

In a separate report, the Labor Department published figures for labor productivity by industry for the years 1987-1996. Eighty percent of manufacturing industries had gains in output; hours rose in close to half. Four of the five largest industries recorded gains: 0.7 percent in motor vehicles and equipment; 2.4 percent in miscellaneous plastics products, n.e.c.; 0.9 percent in commercial printing; and 0.7 percent in aircraft and parts. Productivity in meat products fell 0.4 percent.