Productivity jumps in second quarter

August 09, 2000

Productivity, as measured by output per hour, increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector during the second quarter of 2000, after rising 1.9 percent in the first quarter.

[Chart data—TXT]

Output in nonfarm business rose 5.9 percent in the second quarter, after increasing 5.2 percent during the first quarter of 2000. Hours of all persons working in the sector increased 0.5 percent in the second quarter. This was the smallest increase in hours since the first quarter of 1996 (when they fell 0.1 percent) and followed a 3.2 percent rise in the first quarter of 2000.

These data are a product of the BLS Quarterly Labor Productivityprogram. Data are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, Second Quarter 2000," news release USDL 00-225.