Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.
Investing May 7, 2002
Q1 Worker Productivity Shines
May 7, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - US worker
productivity chugged ahead of analyst expectations, at a rate
of 8.6% in the first quarter - its best performance in almost
two decades, according to figures from the US Department of
Labor (DoL).
Reported by Camilla Klein
The increase, which last reached this level in 1983, was
chiefly due to businesses taking the scissors to payrolls
and squeezing more labor out of their workers. Over the
quarter, the total number of hours worked plummeted at a
rate of 1.9%, while output increased at a rate of 6.5%.
The increase in productivity, or the amount of output per
hour of work, followed a strong 5.5% of increase in the
previous quarter, the DoL said.
Unit labor costs fell 5.4% over the period, clocking the
largest fall since a 6.5% decline in the second quarter of
1983. In manufacturing, unit labor costs declined by 6.5%,
the biggest drop in over four decades.