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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_Locke who wrote (22842)	2/3/2005 7:36:41 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 116555

[Looks like slow productivity growth does help for employment<g>]--"Figures point to pressure for new US jobs" By Christopher Swann and Andrew Balls in Washington Published: February 3 2005 20:04 \| Last updated: February 3 2005 20:04 US productivity grew at its slowest pace for nearly four years in the last quarter of 2004, raising hopes that companies will have to hire more workers but also suggesting that pressures on inflation may intensify. The Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, which measure output divided by hours worked, showed productivity climbing at an annualised rate of just 0.8 per cent in the fourth quarter. Although productivity rose by an impressive 4.1 per cent for 2004 on average, the rate of increase slowed sharply over the year. Unit labour costs rose at an annualised 2.3 per cent over the quarter and were up 1 per cent over the year. In 2002 and 2003, unit labour costs actually fell by 1.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively and the recent pick-up may be an early warning sign of building inflationary pressures. “Unit labour costs at the moment are probably at the upper end of what the Federal Reserve feels comfortable with,” said Ian Morris, US economist at HSBC. However, there were still signs of slack in the labour market. The increase in hourly compensation including wages and benefits fell back to 3.1 per cent in the fourth quarter from 3.5 per cent. news.ft.com