September 07, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Second-quarter productivity growth revised upward

Productivity in the nonfarm business sector—as measured by output per hour—grew at a revised seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.6 percent in the second quarter of 2007. Productivity growth for the second quarter was originally estimated at 1.8 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

Output in the nonfarm business sector increased at an annual rate of 5.0 percent in the second quarter; the preliminary estimate was 4.2 percent. Hours of all persons—employees, proprietors, and unpaid family members—rose by 2.3 percent, which was the same as the preliminary estimate.

In the first quarter of 2007, productivity increased 0.7 percent, output rose 0.3 percent, and hours fell 0.3 percent.

These data are from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data in this report are seasonally adjusted annual rates. These estimates are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, Second Quarter 2007, Revised" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 07-1362.