US productivity figures revised down

US non-farm labor productivity increased at a revised 8

US non-farm labor productivity increased at a revised 8.4 per cent annual rate in the first quarter, down slightly from the initial estimate of an 8.6 per cent rise, the Labor Department said.

This is still the highest quarterly rate of productivity growth since the second quarter of 1983.

The downward revision was in line with the consensus forecasts of Wall Street economists.

The forecast was based on the downward revision to Q1 GDP growth. Last week, the Commerce Department reported that Q1 GDP growth rose at a revised 5.6 per cent annual rate, slower than the initial estimate of a 5.8 per cent growth rate.

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On a year-on-year basis, non-farm labor productivity rose a revised 4.2 per cent, down from the initial estimate of a 4.3 per cent rise.

The revision to Q1 productivity reflected downward revisions to both output and hours worked.

AFP