U.S. non-farm labor productivity sank 4.6 percent, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, in the second quarter of 2022, 3 percent below the decline in the previous quarter, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report on Aug. 9.
U.S. non-farm business output, which is about 75 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), decreased by 2.1 percent during the second quarter, while hours worked increased by 2.6 percent, at half the pace of the previous quarter.
This is a sign that the American economy, as measured by GDP, has shrunk for a second consecutive quarter.
Inflation, which reached a 40-year high, has been hitting consumer spending, while interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, in order to control rising costs, have curtailed business growth and housing sales….