November 08, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.) Another rise in productivityNonfarm business sector productivity—as measured by output per hour—increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.0 percent in the third quarter of 2002. Output rose by 4.1 percent and hours of all persons edged up by 0.1 percent in the third quarter. The small rise in hours reflects a 0.6-percent increase in employment combined with a 0.5-percent decline in average weekly hours at work. Hourly compensation increased at a 4.8-percent annual rate in the third quarter of 2002. When the rise in consumer prices is taken into account, real hourly compensation rose at a 2.9-percent annual rate during the July-September period. 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 2002" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 02-624. Happy 10th Birthday, TED!The very first issue of The Editor's Desk (TED) was posted on September 28, 1998. TED was the first online-only publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 10 years, BLS has been committed to posting a new TED article each business day, for a total of over 2,400 articles so far. |
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