U.S. nonfarm unit productivity rose at a 6.4% annual rate in the second quarter, after rising at a 0.3% annual rate in the first quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday.
Unit labor cost growth decreased at a 5.8% rate in the second quarter, compared to a 3.7% rate of decline in the first-quarter reading.
Thomson Reuters poll of economists expected a 5.3% rise in productivity and a 2.4% drop in unit labor costs.
The implicit price deflator fell at a 0.2% pace in the quarter, after 2.7% growth in the prior quarter. Real compensation fell 1.1% in the quarter, compared to the 0.1% dip in the first quarter.
