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Special Topics
by Tom Moeller November 1, 2018
Output per hour in the nonfarm business sector grew 2.2% (SAAR, 1.3% y/y) in Q3'18 following a 3.0% gain in Q2. A 2.0% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Nonfarm business output rose 4.1% (3.7% y/y) following a 5.0% increase while hours-worked improved 1.8% (2.4% y/y) after a 2.0% gain.
Unit labor costs rose 1.2% (1.5% y/y) last quarter and reversed a 1.0% Q2 decline. A 1.1% increase had been expected. Compensation grew 3.5% (2.8% y/y) following a 1.9% increase.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity edged 0.5% higher (1.3% y/y) after a 1.2% rise. Output increased 3.4% both q/q and y/y after a 2.6% gain. Hours-worked grew 2.9% (2.1% y/y) following a 1.4% rise.
Unit labor costs in the factory sector rose 0.9% both q/q and y/y after a 0.1% uptick. Compensation grew 1.5% in Q3 (2.2% y/y) after a 1.3% improvement.
The productivity & cost figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figures are from the Action Economics Forecast Survey and are found in the AS1REPNA database.
| Productivity & Costs (SAAR, %) | Q3'18 | Q2'18 | Q1'18 | Q3'18 Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonfarm Business Sector | |||||||
| Output per Hour (Productivity) | 2.2 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.3 |
| Compensation per Hour | 3.5 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 3.1 |
| Unit Labor Costs | 1.2 | -1.0 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 1.8 |
| Manufacturing Sector | |||||||
| Output per Hour (Productivity) | 0.5 | 1.2 | -0.8 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | -1.5 |
| Compensation per Hour | 1.5 | 1.3 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 2.5 |
| Unit Labor Costs | 0.9 | 0.1 | 5.5 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 4.1 |
