September 08, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Factory productivity, second quarter of 2005

In the second quarter of 2005, productivity in the manufacturing sector—as measured by output per hour of all persons—increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.6 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

Factory output increased 0.8 percent and hours of all persons fell 2.7 percent in the second quarter. In the first quarter of 2005, productivity rose 4.2 percent, as output grew 3.5 percent and hours declined 0.7 percent.

In the durable goods sector, productivity grew 3.3 percent in the second quarter of 2005, reflecting an increase in output of 1.5 percent and a drop in hours of 1.8 percent. In nondurable goods, output per hour rose 4.4 percent as output was unchanged and hours declined 4.2 percent. 

These data are from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data are subject to revision. For more information, see "Productivity and Costs, Second Quarter 2005, Revised" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-1673.