Productivity in second quarter 2008

Productivity—as measured by output per hour of all persons—increased 2.2 percent in the nonfarm business sector during the second quarter of 2008 as output grew 1.7 percent and hours at work declined 0.5 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates).

[Chart data—TXT]

Revised results for first-quarter 2008 show that productivity increased 2.6 percent, output rose 0.9 percent, and hours fell 1.6 percent. Nonfarm business output per hour had increased at an average annual rate of 2.5 percent from 2000 through 2007.

Hourly compensation in the nonfarm business sector increased 3.6 percent in the second quarter of 2008, compared to a 5.2-percent rise one quarter earlier. When the 5.0-percent annual rate of increase in consumer prices is taken into account, real hourly compensation fell 1.4 percent in the second quarter of 2008. This measure rose 0.8 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 2008, Preliminary," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 08-1123.