August 08, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Productivity in second quarter 2007

Productivity—as measured by output per hour of all persons—increased 1.8 percent in the nonfarm business sector during the second quarter of 2007 as output grew 4.2 percent and hours of all persons increased 2.3 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates).

[Chart data—TXT]

Revised results for first-quarter 2007 show that productivity increased 0.7 percent, output rose 0.3 percent, and hours declined 0.3 percent. Nonfarm business output per hour had increased at an average annual rate of 2.7 percent from 2000 through 2006.

Hourly compensation in the nonfarm business sector increased 3.9 percent in the second quarter of 2007, similar to a 3.7-percent rise one quarter earlier. When the 6.0-percent rise in consumer prices is taken into account, real hourly compensation fell 2.0 percent in the second quarter of 2007. It had fallen 0.2 percent in the first quarter.

These data are from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data are subject to revision. For more information, see "Productivity and Costs, Second Quarter 2007, Preliminary" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 07-1200.