Productivity in first quarter 2005

May 06, 2005

Productivity in the nonfarm business sector—as measured by output per hour—rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.6 percent in the first quarter of 2005.

[Chart data—TXT]

Output grew 3.6 percent and hours of all persons increased by 1.0 percent.

In the fourth quarter of 2004, productivity had risen 2.1 percent, reflecting increases in output and hours of 3.7 and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Hourly compensation increased 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2005, more rapidly than in the fourth quarter, when it grew 3.8 percent. When the rise in consumer prices was taken into account, real hourly compensation rose 2.4 percent in the first quarter, up from 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004.

These data are from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, First Quarter 2005, Preliminary" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-787.