WASHINGTON – Productivity gains for the fourth quarter and for all of 2006 were reported today by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In the fourth quarter, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of productivity – in terms of output per hour of all persons – rose 2.4 percent for the business sector and 3.0 percent for the non-farm business sector, the bureau said. Those quarterly increases outpaced the sectors’ annual gains of 2.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively, or slightly slower than the 2.3-percent growth each sector saw from 2004 to 2005.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity grew at a 2.2-percent annual rate in the fourth quarter. Durable-goods manufacturing productivity rose at a 3.3-percent rate, and nondurable goods productivity at 0.9 percent.
For all of 2006, manufacturing productivity was up 3.9 percent, slowing from the 4.2-percent average annual gain seen from 2000 to 2005. Durable-goods manufacturing productivity gained 6.2 percent, while nondurable goods productivity rose 1.5 percent.
The business-sector gains came as output rose faster than hours worked.
Aggregate business sector output rose 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter as hours at work rose 1.7 percent. For the non-farm sector, output rose 4.2 percent and hours of all persons rose 1.2 percent, after seasonal adjustment.
The manufacturing sector’s productivity rose as output fell but hours fell even faster.
Seasonally adjusted manufacturing output dipped 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, in the first decrease since the second quarter of 2003, and hours worked fell 3.7 percent. In durable goods, output was down 0.5 percent and hours at work, 3.7 percent; in nondurable goods, output was down 3.0 percent and hours 3.9 percent.
The manufacturing sector accounts for about 12 percent of U.S. business-sector employment, the BLS noted. Its hours and output tend to vary more from quarter to quarter than do those of other sectors.
The quarter saw hourly compensation rise 4.2 percent for business workers and 4.8 percent for nonfarm business workers. Unit labor cost rose 1.7 percent for both business sectors.
In the manufacturing sector, average hourly compensation rose 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter – 7.9 percent for durable goods workers and 6.1 percent for nondurable goods workers. Unit labor costs rose 5.0 percent for the quarter – 4.5 percent for durable goods and 5.1 percent for nondurable goods manufacturers.
Additional information is available at www.bls.gov.
