February 06, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Third-quarter productivity growth revised upward

Productivity in the nonfarm business sector—as measured by output per hour—increased at a revised seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 percent in the third quarter of 2002. A preliminary estimate of 4.0 percent had been reported in November. The upward revision was due to a larger increase in output than originally reported.

[Chart data—TXT]

Output in the nonfarm business sector increased 5.1 percent in the third quarter, revised upward from a preliminary estimate of 4.1 percent. Hours of all persons were unchanged, as employment rose 0.6 percent, while average weekly hours fell 0.6 percent.

The third quarter productivity increase was higher than the 1.7-percent rise in the second quarter, but lower than the 8.6-percent increase registered in the first quarter of the year.

These data are from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, Third Quarter 2002 (revised)" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 02-668.