Another rise in productivity

November 08, 2002

Nonfarm business sector productivity—as measured by output per hour—increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.0 percent in the third quarter of 2002.

[Chart data—TXT]

Output rose by 4.1 percent and hours of all persons edged up by 0.1 percent in the third quarter. The small rise in hours reflects a 0.6-percent increase in employment combined with a 0.5-percent decline in average weekly hours at work.

Hourly compensation increased at a 4.8-percent annual rate in the third quarter of 2002. When the rise in consumer prices is taken into account, real hourly compensation rose at a 2.9-percent annual rate during the July-September period.

These data are a product of the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, Third Quarter 2002" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 02-624.