Washington, DC, Sept. 1, 2011 — Worker productivity fell in the second quarter more quickly than previously thought and labor costs increase at a faster rate.
The Labor Department said that productivity declined at an annual rate of 0.7% in the quarter. That was a downward revision from the 0.3% decline first estimated a month ago and the second straight quarterly decline.
Labor costs rose at an annual rate of 3.3%, faster than the 2.4% increase originally reported.
The decline in productivity could lead some companies to hire more people to keep up with demand.
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