Recent Updates
- US: Construction (May+revisions)
- Macao: Gross Revenue from Game of Chance (Jun)
- Manufacturing PMIs: Australia, Ireland, Japan, China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, ASEAN, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Netherlands,
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Income Gained, Spending Slowed in May
Personal income growth remained solid while household spending slowed in May...
U.S. Chicago Business Barometer Falls Back in June to the Lowest Level since Aug. '20
The ISM-Chicago Purchasing Managers Business Barometer fell to 56.0...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Edged Down
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended June 25 declined by 2,000 to 231,000...
China's PMIs Improve in June
China's economy has been under pressure...
U.S. GDP Decline is Deepened in Q1'22; Corporate Profit Growth is Shaved
Domestic demand growth reduced...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Kathleen Stephansen May 6, 2021
• Nonfarm worker productivity surges.
• Compensation per hour rises in Q1'21.
• Unit labor costs decline.
Nonfarm business sector productivity rose 5.4% (SAAR, 4.1% y/y) during Q1'21, following a decline of 3.8% (SAAR, +2.6% y/y) in Q4'20, revised from -4.2%. Productivity growth had reached 11.2% in Q2 last year, leaving the increase in productivity for the full year at 2.5%, the largest annual increase since 2010. A 4.1% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
Q1'21 real output surged 8.4% (1.1% y/y) following a 5.8% (-2.6% y/y) rise in Q4, revised from 5.3%. Hours worked rose 2.9% (-2.9% y/y) after rising 10% in Q4, revised from a 10.7% rise. Not surprisingly, as output per persons rose sharply, unit labor costs declined in Q1 by -0.3% (1.6% y/y) versus the 5.6% (4.1%) rise in Q4. The Action Economics Survey showed an expected decline of 1.1%. Hourly compensation rose 5.1% (5.8% y/y), following a 1.6% rise in Q4 (6.7% y/y).
Productivity in the manufacturing sector increased 0.1% (2.2% y/y) following a 4.5% (2.7% y/y) advance in Q4, revised from a 3% rise. Durable goods manufacturing productivity rose 0.7% (3.9% y/y), following a 5.5% rise in Q4, while non-durable manufacturing productivity advanced 0.3% (0.1% y/y) following a 2.4% rise in Q4. Total manufacturing unit labor costs rose 4.6% (0.1% y/y), a reversal from the 8.2% (0.1% y/y) decline in Q4. Compensation per hour in the manufacturing sector rose 4.6% (2.4% Y/Y), following a 4.1% decline (2.7% y/y) in Q4.
Compensation and labor costs figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
Productivity & Costs (SAAR, %) | Q1'21 | Q4'20 | Q3'20 | Q1'21 Y/Y | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonfarm Business Sector | |||||||
Output per Hour (Productivity) | 5.4 | -3.8 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
Compensation per Hour | 5.1 | 1.6 | -5.8 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 3.7 | 3.3 |
Unit Labor Costs | -0.3 | 5.6 | -9.6 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
Manufacturing Sector | |||||||
Output per Hour (Productivity) | 0.1 | 4.5 | 20.7 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
Compensation per Hour | 4.6 | -4.1 | -12.4 | 2.4 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 2.1 |
Unit Labor Costs | 4.6 | -8.2 | -27.4 | 0.1 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 1.7 |