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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FJB who wrote (104281)	5/5/2011 8:40:51 AM
From: TideGlider	2 Recommendations Respond to of 224749

DATA SNAP:US Productivity Slows In 1Q As Labor Costs RiseLast update: 5/5/2011 8:30:00 AM================================================================= 1Q Productivity - Preliminary ! ! Key Numbers: 1Q 4Q ! Consensus: ! Nonfarm Productivity +1.6% +2.9%r ! +1.0% ! Unit Labor Costs +1.0% -1.0%r ! Actual: +1.6% ! ================================================================= By Luca Di Leo and Jeff Bater Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--U.S. productivity slowed in the first quarter as the economic recovery stumbled and labor costs started to rise again. Nonfarm business productivity rose at a 1.6% annual rate in January through March, after increasing by 2.9% in the final three months of 2010, the Labor Department said Thursday. The fourth-quarter figure was revised up from an originally reported 2.6% rise. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires were expecting productivity to increase by 1.0% in the first three months of the year. The slowdown in productivity came as the U.S. economy hit the brakes in the first quarter, growing at a 1.8% annual rate in the first quarter, down from the 3.1% growth level seen at the end of 2010. Consumers spent less in the first quarter amid higher prices for gasoline and groceries. Nonfarm business output rose 3.1% during the first quarter, down from a 4.4% rise in the fourth quarter, the government report showed. Unit labor costs -- a key gauge of where prices are heading -- rose at a 1.0% annual rate in the first quarter, in line with economists' forecasts. That followed a 1.0% decline in the last three months of 2010. Lower productivity is not always bad for the economy if it's accompanied by an improvement in the labor market, which is what happened in the first quarter. Having reached the limit on how much they're able to squeeze from their existing employees, companies have started to hire more to boost output. Employers added an average 200,000 jobs a month in February and March. Thursday's report also showed that hours worked rose 1.4% during the first three months of the year, following a 1.5% increase in the fourth quarter. Productivity in manufacturing, a key driver in the economy's recovery, rose 6.3% in the first quarter. Manufacturing productivity had increased 5.1% in the previous period. Hours worked in the manufacturing sector rose by 3.3%, compared with a 1.0% decline in the previous quarter. The Labor Department report on productivity can be accessed at: bls.gov . -By Luca Di Leo and Jeff Bater; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6682; jeffrey.sparshott@dowjones.com