Tag: unit labor costs

Annual Labor Productivity Saw Biggest Drop in 49 Years in 2022

U.S. worker productivity saw its largest annual decline in 2022 in nearly five decades, despite an improvement in the fourth quarter. Nonfarm labor productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, fell 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter from the year-ago period, the Department of Labor reported on Feb. 2. Total worker productivity for 2022, in…


US Productivity Plunges to Its Slowest Rate Since 1947 as Labor Costs Soar

United States labor productivity tumbled in the first quarter, to its slowest rate since 1947, while unit labor costs soared, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released June 2. A surge in unit labor costs and hourly compensation in first quarter 2022 was reflected in a steep drop in productivity. Wages continued to…


Unit Labor Costs Surged in 3rd Quarter, Adding to Signs of Persistent Inflation

U.S. unit labor costs rose sharply in the third quarter, while productivity declined at its fastest pace since 1960, adding to signs of persistently high inflation. The Labor Department said on Dec. 7 that unit labor costs, the price of labor per single unit of output, increased at a 9.6 percent annualized rate in the…