Charting fourth-quarter U.S. productivity growth
In the non-farm business sector, productivity — as measured by output per hour — increased at a revised seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This represented a downward revision from the preliminary productivity estimate of 3.0 percent.
Output in the non-farm business sector increased at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006; the preliminary estimate was 4.2 percent.
Hours of all persons — employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers — rose 0.9 percent, following an initially reported estimate of 1.2 percent.
This data is from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data in this report is seasonally adjusted annual rates. These estimates are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, Fourth Quarter and Annual Averages, 2006 Revised" news release USDL 07-0338.