Productivity in the U.S. nonfarm business sector rose at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2008, faster than the 1.5 percent pace expected by analysts, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
The preliminary first-quarter reading for productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, was also better than the revised 1.8 percent growth rate in the final quarter of last year.
Compared with the same quarter a year ago, productivity in nonfarm business sector increased by 3.2 percent in the January-to-March period.
Meanwhile, labor cost pressures eased a bit in the first quarter.
Employers' unit labor costs, or costs of wages and benefits for each unit of output, rose by 2.2 percent at an annual rate, down from an increase of 2.8 percent in the final three months of last year.
Increases in labor costs, which account for two-thirds of a company's production costs, are good for workers, but could lead the Federal Reserve to worry about inflation.
Growth in productivity allows companies to pay their workers more without having to raise the price of their products, which fuels inflation.
The report released Wednesday included annual revisions based on more complete data.
For all of 2007, productivity in nonfarm business sector rose 1.8 percent, up from a 1 percent gain in 2006. Labor costs, meanwhile, grew by 3.1 percent, up from a 2.9 percent increase in 2006.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article