U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
August 13, 2002
Unit labor costs in the manufacturing sector fell at an annual rate of 1.8 percent (seasonally adjusted) in the second quarter of 2002. This was the fourth consecutive decline in the series.
The second-quarter decrease in unit labor costs in the manufacturing sector resulted from a combination of a 3.0-percent increase in hourly compensation and a 4.9-percent rise in productivity. The change in unit labor costs is roughly equal to the change in hourly compensation less the change in productivity.
These data are a product of the BLS Productivity and Costs program. Unit labor costs—the cost of the labor input required to produce one unit of output—are computed by dividing labor costs in nominal terms by real output. Data are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, Second Quarter 2002 (preliminary)" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 02-469.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Editor's Desk, Manufacturing unit labor costs fall again in second quarter on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2002/aug/wk2/art02.htm (visited May 22, 2013).
This edition of Spotlight on Statistics examines labor productivity trends from 2000 through 2010 for selected industries and sectors within the nonfarm business sector of the U.S. economy. Read more »
