U.S. productivity rebounds moderately in third quarter

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Reuters

Macro Matters

2 minute read

November 3, 2022 * 9:09 AM EDT * Last Updated 2 hours ago

U.S. productivity rebounds moderately in third quarter

Reuters

WASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - U.S. worker productivity rebounded less than expected in the third quarter, resulting in continued upward pressure on labor costs that could keep inflation elevated.

Nonfarm productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, rose at a 0.3 annualized rate last quarter, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the second quarter was unrevised to show productivity declining at a 4.1% rate. ... Economists polled by Reuters had forecast productivity would rise at a 0.6% pace.

The increase was flagged in last week's third-quarter gross domestic product report, which showed the economy rebounding at a 2.6% rate after contracting for two straight quarters.

Productivity fell at a 1.4% rate from a year ago. Large shifts in the composition of the workforce in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have made it harder to measure productivity.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-productivity-rebounds-moderately-third-quarter-2022-11-03/

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Economics

US Worker Productivity Barely Rises, Though Helps Cool Labor Costs

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-03/us-productivity-barely-increases-while-unit-labor-costs-cool

-- Worker productivity rose annualized 0.3% in third quarter
-- Labor costs slow to 3.5% pace, still up solidly from year ago

By Reade Pickert
November 3, 2022 at 8:36 AM EDT Updated on November 3, 2022 at 8:58 AM EDT

US worker productivity barely increased in the third quarter after steep declines in the first half of the year, though enough to slow the pace of labor cost growth.

Productivity, or nonfarm business employee output per hour, increased at a 0.3% annual rate in the third quarter, according to Labor Department figures Thursday. That compared to a 4.1% decline in the second quarter and the 0.5% projected advance in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

[BumRushDaShow]

1. "Large shifts in the composition of the workforce in the wake of the COVID-19"

Meaning a potential large number of still-in-training people, no matter what sector, from lowest rungs of service, up through white collar workers who switched jobs.

[IronLionZion]

2. COVID saw lots of retirements and career changers

I'm skeptical about productivity measures when many workplaces are still short staffed.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. From the source, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Productivity increases 0.3% in Q3 2022; unit labor costs increase 3.5% (annual rates)

Productivity increased 0.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector in the third quarter of 2022; unit labor costs increased 3.5 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates). Output and hours were historically revised to reflect source data revisions and a new approach for estimating hours.

Economic News Release USDL 22-2096

Productivity and Costs, Third Quarter 2022, Preliminary


Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (ET) Thursday, November 3, 2022

Technical information: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.bls.gov/productivity
Media contact: [phone] • [e-mail]

PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
Third Quarter 2022, Preliminary

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 2.8 percent and hours worked increased 2.4 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the same quarter a year ago, nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 1.4 percent, reflecting a 1.9-percent increase in output and a 3.4-percent increase in hours worked. The 1.4-percent four-quarter decline is the first instance of three consecutive declines in this measure since 1982. (See table A1.)

Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked by all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.

Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2022, reflecting a 3.8-percent increase in hourly compensation and a 0.3-percent increase in productivity. Unit labor costs increased 6.1 percent over the last four quarters. (See tables A1 and 2.)

{snip a way huge amount}

Complete quarterly and annual data series can be found on the Productivity and Costs home page: www.bls.gov/lpc/#data
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The revised Productivity and Costs news release for third-quarter 2022 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

{even more snipitude}