September 07, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Productivity growth in the second quarter revised upward

Productivity in the nonfarm business sector—as measured by output per hour—rose 1.6 percent during the second quarter of 2006. The preliminary productivity estimate was 1.1 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

In the second quarter of 2006, output increased 3.1 percent and hours of all persons increased 1.5 percent; the preliminary figures were 2.5 and 1.4 percent, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2006, productivity gained 4.3 percent, output increased 6.7 percent, and hours grew 2.3 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 2006, revised" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-1555.