U.S. Productivity Jump Unrevised At 3.2% In Q4, Labor Cost Growth Downwardly Revised To 0.4%
(RTTNews) - Labor productivity in the U.S. saw an unrevised jump in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The Labor Department said labor productivity shot up by 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter, unchanged from the previous estimate. Economists had expected the surge in productivity to be downwardly revised to 3.1 percent.
The jump in labor productivity, a measure of output per hour, was unrevised as the surge in output was downwardly revised to 3.5 percent from 3.7 percent and the increase in hours worked was downwardly revised to 0.3 percent from 0.4 percent.
While unrevised, the surge in the labor productivity in the fourth quarter still reflects a slowdown from a 4.7 percent spike in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, the report said unit labor costs rose by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the previously reported 0.5 percent advance. Economists had expected the increase in labor costs to be upwardly revised to 0.6 percent.
The modestly slower than previously estimated labor cost growth came as the surge in hourly compensation was downwardly revised to 3.6 percent from 3.7 percent.
The increase in real hourly compensation, which takes changes in consumer prices into account, was also downwardly revised to 0.8 percent from 0.9 percent.
The modest labor cost growth in the fourth quarter follows a 0.1 percent uptick in the third quarter, which was revised from a previously reported 1.1 percent slump.
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