December 07, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Third-quarter productivity growth revised downward

Productivity in the nonfarm business sector, as measured by output per hour, increased at a revised seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.5 percent in the third quarter of 2001. A preliminary growth rate of 2.7 percent had been reported last month, based on information available at that time.

[Chart data—TXT]

The change in output in the third quarter was revised downward from a decline of 1.0 percent to a decline of 2.0 percent. The change in hours was revised upward slightly from a decrease of 3.6 percent to a decrease of 3.4 percent.

The declines in output and hours in the third quarter of 2001 were the largest declines since the first quarter of 1991, when output decreased 3.2 percent and hours fell 4.8 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, Third Quarter 2001 (revised)," news release USDL 01-452.