WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported revised productivity data today for the second quarter of 2003. In the nonfarm business sector, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of productivity was 6.8 percent, the largest increase in a year.
Companies produced more with fewer workers, as output grew 4.4 percent while hours decreased 2.3 percent. In the first quarter of 2003, productivity had increased 2.1 percent, as output rose 1.4 percent and hours declined 0.7 percent.