Labor productivity in the United States declined in the first quarter for the first time in nearly three years as economic output dropped, ending the previous streak of efficiency growth that had helped mitigate the impact of employment costs on inflation.
According to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday (May 8th), productivity (i.e. output per hour by non-farm employees) declined at an annualized rate of 0.8%. The revised growth rate was 1.7% in the fourth quarter of last year and 2.3% in the third quarter. Productivity increased by 2.3% for the whole of last year. This was the highest level in 14 years except for 2020.
Unit labor cost (that is, the cost that enterprises pay to employees for producing a unit of output, adjusted for productivity) jumped 5.7% in the first quarter, the largest increase in a year.
Bloomberg's previous report pointed out that the soaring productivity in recent years has helped ease the pressure in the job market and brought the inflation rate closer to the Federal Reserve's 2% target level.
It is an undeniable fact that the United States has declined in its capacity to build merchant ships and warships, lagging significantly behind countries such as China, South Korea and Japan.
It is an undeniable fact that the United States has decline…
On September 7th local time, Hamas stated that it was ready…
Recently, the US capital market has drawn much attention du…
Recently, U.S. President Trump threatened the European Unio…
Recently, the global financial market is experiencing a sev…
On September 7th, US President Trump dropped a bombshell ou…
© Copyright 2025, All Rights Reserved
