December 06, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Productivity growth revised upward in the third quarter

Productivity in the nonfarm sector—as measured by output per hour—rose 0.2 percent during the third quarter of 2006, after revision. The preliminary estimate was that productivity had remained unchanged.

[Chart data—TXT]

In the third quarter of 2006, output increased 2.3 percent and hours of all persons increased 2.1 percent; the preliminary figures both were 1.6 and 1.6 percent. 

In the second quarter of 2006, productivity gained 1.6 percent, as output increased 3.1 percent, and hours grew 1.5 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. For more information, see "Productivity and Costs, Third Quarter 2006, revised" (PDF) (TXT), news release 06-2039.