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Economy in Brief
Kansas City Federal Reserve Factory Index Hits Record High
The Kansas City Fed reported that its index of regional manufacturing sector business activity surged to a record 26...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Decline Sharply
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell sharply to 209,000 (-17.1% y/y)...
German Confidence Flattens and Falters
German confidence for May is mooted at a 97.8% queue percentile standing...
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Are Little Changed; Rates Remain High
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Volume Index eased 0.2% last week (-1.9% y/y)...
Japan Shows Very Moderate Growth As Trade War Clouds Gather
Japan’s sector indexes showed a solid gain in February...
by Tom Moeller February 5, 2015
Nonfarm productivity declined at a 1.8% annual rate last quarter and was unchanged y/y. The figure followed an upwardly revised 3.7% increase in Q3. For all of last year, worker productivity rose 0.8% on average, about the same as it did in the prior two years. Real output increased at a 3.2% rate last quarter (3.1% y/y) while hours worked gained 5.1% (3.1% y/y). Compensation per hour increased a diminished 0.9% (1.9% y/y) but when adjusted for lower prices, it improved 2.1% (0.7% y/y). The deterioration in productivity caused unit labor costs to jump 2.7% in Q4 (1.9% y/y), reversing it Q3 gain. The Q4 productivity decline compared to expectations for a 0.8% rise in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. A 1.0% rise in unit labor costs was expected.
Manufacturing sector worker productivity rose at a lessened 1.3% rate (2.8% y/y) after a 3.2% rise. For all of last year, productivity grew 2.5% on average after a 2.0% rise in 2013. Output grew 5.7% (4.8% y/y) after a 4.8% gain, while hours worked improved 4.3% (1.9% y/y) following a 1.5% Q3 increase. Worker compensation per hour increased at a steady 1.5% rate (2.4% y/y). Adjusted for price inflation, compensation gained 2.8% (1.2% y/y). Unit labor costs improved 0.2% (-0.4% y/y) following two quarters of sharp decline.
The productivity & cost figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is from Action Economics and is the AS1REPNA database.
Productivity & Costs (SAAR,%) | Q4'14 | Q3'14 | Q2'14 | Q4 Y/Y | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonfarm Business Sector | |||||||
Output per Hour (Productivity) | -1.8 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
Compensation per Hour | 0.9 | 1.3 | -0.9 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 2.7 |
Unit Labor Costs | 2.7 | -2.3 | -3.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 1.7 |
Manufacturing Sector | |||||||
Output per Hour (Productivity) | 1.3 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
Compensation per Hour | 1.5 | 1.4 | -1.9 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 1.7 |
Unit Labor Costs | 0.2 | -1.7 | -5.4 | -0.4 | -0.0 | -1.4 | 0.8 |