Productivity Spurt Beats Analysts Expectations
05/06/2010
The report states that productivity output rose 4.4 percent and hours worked increased 0.8 percent.
That's just half the good news for business though. The Bureau of Labor also reported today that labor costs, for the third consecutive quarter, have decreased more than expected as well, at an annual rate of 1.6 percent, much more than the 0.7 percent industry watchers had forecast.
For all of 2009, productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, rose at a 3.7 percent rate, nearly double the 2 percent increase in 2008. It was the fastest annual increase in productivity in seven years.
In a related economic report, initial unemployment claims for unemployment benefits dipped last week for the third consecutive time by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 444,000. That figure bested forecasts of 440,000.
The April jobs report will be released by tomorrow and analysts expect the jobless rate will stay at 9.7 percent despite the addition of 200,000 jobs, as many of those jobs are temporary Census project assignments.
Project Announcements
PEAK Precision Manufacturing Plans Bowling Green, Kentucky, Operations
07/26/2024
Italy-Based Sipcam Agro USA Upgrades Wayne County, Mississippi, Operations
07/26/2024
Cleveland-Cliffs Plans Weirton, West Virginia, Operations
07/26/2024
IDEXX Laboratories Plans Wilson, North Carolina, Production Operations
07/26/2024
Germany-Based Ritz Instrument Transformers Plans Waynesboro, Georgia, Operations
07/26/2024
AirJoule Plans Newark-Wilmington, Delaware, Operations
07/26/2024
Most Read
-
19th Annual Area Development Gold and Silver Shovel Awards
Q2 2024
-
2023's Leading Metro Locations: Hotspots of Economic Growth
Q4 2023
-
2023 Top States for Doing Business Meet the Needs of Site Selectors
Q3 2023
-
The CHIPS and Science Act will bring jobs back to the United States
Q2 2024
-
2023 Top States Commentary: Top-Ranked States Have What It Takes to Win Mega Projects
Q3 2023
-
The Bring Your Own Energy (BYOE) Party Is Starting
Q2 2024
-
Midwest becomes hotspot for semiconductor manufacturing and supply industries
Q2 2024