Decreases in the number of hours worked led to increases in the productivity of American companies in the third quarter, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The department measures productivity by the output per hour of all workers. Productivity increased by 1.5 percent in the business sector and by 1.3 percent in the non-farm sector. In both sectors, hours were revised down more than output, resulting in productivity increases greater than forecast last month by the department.
Manufacturing productivity fell by 2.7 percent overall during the quarter as a 2.9 percent increase in durable goods manufacturing was hurt by a 10.2 percent decrease in non-durable goods manufacturing productivity.
Productivity decreases in manufacturing were greater than predicted by the department last month.
