Quarterly Productivity and Labor Cost Report Released Today

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning released their report on Non-farm Productivity and Unit Labor Costs for the fourth quarter of 2005:

Non-farm Productivity
Consensus: -0.1 %
Actual: -0.5 %

Unit Labor Costs
Consensus: +3.0 %
Actual: +3.3 %

The above percentages represent the quarter-to-quarter change in non-farm productivity and unit labor costs.

For non-farm productivity, a positive number represents an improvement in the efficiency of producing domestic goods and services in the U.S., and therefore can signify a favorable inflationary outlook, and vice versa.

The Unit Labor Costs report measures the costs related to producing each unit of output. A positive number can be a harbinger of rising inflation, and vice versa.

The "consensus" is what economists were expecting, while the "actual" is the actual or real figure.

Click here to view the full report (PDF.)

--> www.FedPrimeRate.com Privacy Policy <-- >  SITEMAP  <