US productivity recovers after steep 1Q fall
Source: AP-Excite
By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. workers were more productive in the April-June quarter and labor costs rose slightly, a sharp turnaround from grim first-quarter figures.
The Labor Department said Friday that that productivity increased 2.5 percent at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, after plummeting 4.5 percent in the first quarter. That was the steepest drop in 31 years, and reflected a sharp 2.1 percent contraction in the economy.
Economists blamed most of that shrinkage on temporary factors, such as harsh weather and a cutback in stockpiling by businesses.
Productivity measures output per hour of work. Greater productivity increases living standards because it enables companies to pay their workers more without having to increase prices, which can boost inflation.
Labor costs rose just 0.6 percent, after surging 11.8 percent in the first quarter. But labor costs shrank in the second half of last year and in the past 12 months have increased just 1.9 percent. That is below the long-run average of 2.8 percent and suggests that wages and salaries aren't rising fast enough to spur inflation.
FULL story at link.
In this Friday, June 6, 2014 photo, Anthony Scharf dries a car at a car wash in Woodmere Village, Ohio. The Labor Department releases second-quarter productivity data on Friday, Aug. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
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immediately thought of teabaggers.
