labor costs

Q2 2016 Labor Productivity Declines By -0.5% as Labor Costs Rise

The BLS Productivity & Costs report for Q2 2016 shows labor productivity decreased -0.5% annualized.  Output increased 1.2% and hours worked increased 1.8%.  Unit Labor costs increased only 0.5% in Q2 2015.  The reason labor productivity declined was because economic output grew less than worked hours.  For the 2015 year, annual productivity rose 0.9%.

Labor Productivity Grows By Just 1.3% in Q2 2015

The BLS Productivity & Costs report for Q2 2015 shows labor productivity increased 1.3% annualized.  Output increased 2.8% and hours worked increased 1.5%.  Unit Labor costs increased only 0.5% in Q2 2015.  The reason labor productivity rose was because economic output grew more than worker hours.  Both Q4 2014 and Q1 2015 showed decreases in labor productivity.

Labor Productivity Increases 2.0% for Q3

The BLS Productivity & Costs report for Q3 2014 shows labor productivity increased 2.0% annualized.  Output increased 4.4% and hours worked increased 2.3%.  Unit Labor costs increased only 0.3% in Q3 2014.  The reason labor productivity rose was because economic output grew more than worker hours.  Overall labor is still getting squeezed for more efficiency and wages are still repressed.

Labor Productivity Soars While Real Wages Languish in Q3 2013

The BLS Productivity & Costs report for Q3 2013 shows labor productivity increased a whopping annualized 3.0%.   This is the largest increase in productivity since Q4 2009.  Output increased 4.7% and hours worked increased 1.7%.  Unit Labor costs dropped by -1.4% in Q3 2013.  The reason labor productivity surged was increased economic output while worker hours did not increase as much.

Productivity & Costs for Q1 2013 Shows Biggest Wage Decline on Record

The Q1 2013 Productivity & Costs revision shows labor productivity increased an annualized 0.5%.   Output increased 2.1% and hours worked increased 1.6%.  Hourly compensation dropped -3.8% in Q1 2013.  This is the largest quarterly decline for wages in history.  Between the numbers lies even more bad news for workers.  Labor is simply getting squeezed to death as workers created more while being paid less.  This quarterly report also shows there is no worker shortage for compensation would surely rise if demand for workers exceeded supply.

Revised Productivity & Costs for Q2 2012

The Q2 2012 Productivity & Costs revision shows Labor productivity increased an annualized +2.2% instead of +1.6%. Output was revised to +2.4% from +2.0% and hours worked were downgraded to +0.1% instead of the originally reported +0.4%. The revisions continue to show bad news for workers, more output for less hours means worker squeeze and less hires and it's worse than we thought with these revisions.

Productivity & Costs for Q2 2012

The Q2 2012 Productivity & Costs report shows Labor productivity increased +1.6% from Q1 2012, annualized. Output increased +2.0% and hours worked increased +0.4%. This report shows more bad news for workers, more output for less hours means worker squeeze and less hires. Graphed below is business, nonfarm labor productivity per quarter.

 

Productivity & Costs for Q1 2012 Show Manufacturing Workers are Really Getting the Squeeze

The Q1 2012 Productivity & Costs report was significantly revised and now shows Labor productivity decreased -0.9% from Q4 2011, annualized. Output increased +2.4% and hours worked increased +3.3%. While this might seem good news for workers, more hours for them, the statistics on wages below tell a different story. Graphed below is business, nonfarm labor productivity per quarter.

 

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