Business Productivity Falls as Output Drops and Hours Worked Jumps

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics

The US nonfarm business sector opened the year with lower productivity, as output fell while hours worked increased. QQQ is up 0.20%, while SPY is down 0.20%.

• First-quarter nonfarm business labor productivity fell by 7.3% from the previous quarter and by 0.6% from the same quarter last year.
• Output posted a quarterly decline of 2.3% and an increase of 4.2% from the first quarter of 2021.
• Hours worked during the quarter recorded a 5.4% increase from the fourth quarter of 2021 and a 4.8% higher than the same quarter in 2021.
• Hourly compensation saw a quarterly increase of 4.4% and an annual increase of 7.6%, while real hourly compensation fell 4.4% quarterly and 0.4% annually.
• Unit labor costs for the quarter increased by 12.6% from the previous quarter and jumped by 8.2% from the same quarter last year. 
• Business labor productivity recorded a quarterly decline of 7.6%, while manufacturing productivity increased by 0.2%.