US productivity up 2.3 percent in second quarter

Washington, Sep 5 (IANS) Labour productivity of the US non-farm business sector rose to 2.3 percent from April through June, following a 1.7 percent decline in the previous quarter, according to the revised figure from the US Labour Department Thursday.

The gain in productivity reflected increases of 3.7 percent in output and 1.4 percent in hours worked in the second quarter, Xinhua reported citing the department's data.

Unit labour costs in non-farm businesses were unchanged in the second quarter, as hourly compensation increased at the same 2.3 percent rate as productivity.

US manufacturing sector productivity increased 1.9 percent as output declined 0.6 percent and hours worked declined 2.4 percent. Over the last four quarters, manufacturing productivity grew 1.9 percent.

Productivity measures the amount of output per hour of work. Increasing productivity can slow job creation because it means companies can get more out of their current staff without hiring more workers.