US productivity decline revised to 4.1% for Q2

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - A decline in US nonfarm labor productivity was revised to 4.1% in the second quarter, according to Labor Department figures released Thursday.

The latest business sector figure, which measures the change in labor efficiency when producing goods and services, was expected to show a 4.5% decline.

A preliminary figure announced Aug. 9 estimated a 4.6% contraction in productivity for the April-June period.

The revision reflects “a 0.7-percentage point upward revision to output and a 0.1-percentage point upward revision to hours worked," the agency said in a statement.

Nonfarm labor productivity declined 2.4% in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year, recording the largest annual decrease since the first quarter of 1948, according to the Labor Department.

Unit labor costs rose 10.2% in the second quarter from the previous quarter.

The figure, which is the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity, rose 9.3% year-on-year, its largest annual increase since the first quarter of 1982, it added.