Productivity Growth Revised Upward to 1.5% Rate in 2Q
Productivity of U.S. workers rose in the second quarter at a faster pace than initially reported, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Labor’s measure of how much work is performed by one person in an hour rose at a 1.5% annualized pace from April to June. An earlier estimate had put the increase at 1.1%, following an 8.6% rise in the first quarter.
When workers' productivity grows, companies can produce more while holding down costs. This could increase the demand for trucking services as more goods are purchased.
The four-week moving average, considered to be a more reliable indicator of trends in the weekly report, rose to 400,000, its highest level since the week ended June 8.
On Friday, Labor will release its unemployment and payroll estimates for August.
The report on productivity said it was 4.8% higher than the second quarter of 2001, the strongest year-over-year gain since 1983. Analysts expected the productivity rate to remain unchanged at a 1.1% annual rate, Bloomberg said.
The slower pace of productivity growth in the second quarter compared with the previous three months reflects a slowing in the recovery from a recession that started in March 2001, Bloomberg reported.
Labor also said productivity at U.S. manufacturers rose at a 4.3% annual rate in the second quarter after a 9.7% increase in the first quarter. Manufacturing is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.
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