Productivity increased at a 6.6 percent annual rate during the second quarter of 2009, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The increase was the largest since the third quarter of 2003, and reflects declines of 1.5 percent in output and 7.6 percent in hours worked.
From the second quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2009, output fell 5.5 percent while hours fell 7.2 percent, resulting in an increase in productivity of 1.9 percent. Nonfarm business productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.5 percent from 2000 through 2008.
