May 02, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Productivity up in first quarter

Nonfarm business sector productivity—as measured by output per hour—rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2003.

Growth in output per hour of all persons, nonfarm business, seasonally adjusted, 2001 II - 2003 I (percent change from previous quarter at annual rate)
[Chart data—TXT]

Output increased 1.4 percent and hours of all persons dropped 0.1 percent in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2002, productivity had increased 0.7 percent, as output rose 1.7 percent and hours increased by 0.9 percent.

These data are a from the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Data are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, First Quarter 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03-202.

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