Final Q1 Non-Farm Productivity Up 0.5%; Labor Costs Drop 4.3%

Non-farm productivity rose 0.5% in the first quarter, while unit labor costs dropped 4.3%, according to final data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Wednesday.

The preliminary reading was a 0.7% increase in productivity and a 0.5% rise in unit labor costs. In the fourth quarter of 2012, productivity fell 1.7% and unit labor costs soared 11.8%.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected productivity to rise 0.7% and unit labor costs to grow 0.5%.

Output was up 2.1% in the quarter, hours worked increased 1.6%, while compensation fell 3.8% and real compensation was off 5.2%. Non-labor costs rose 7.6%

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