US nonfarm productivity falls 4.6% in Q2

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Nonfarm business sector labor productivity in the US fell 4.6% in the second quarter, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

The figure, which measures the change in labor efficiency when producing goods and services, was expected to show a quarterly decline of 4.7%.

On an annual basis, nonfarm labor productivity declined 7.4% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, recording the largest annual decrease since the July-September period of 1947.

Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector rose 10.8% in the second quarter from the previous quarter, according to the Labor Department.

The figure, which is the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity, rose 9.5% year-on-year, its largest annual increase since the first quarter of 1982, it added.