A 6.2% Productivity Growth Quarter, A 5.1% Productivity Growth Year

Alan Rappeport of the FT:

6.2% Productivity Growth Quarter: The labour department said separately on Thursday that productivity, excluding farmers, rose by 6.2 per cent during the fourth quarter of last year. Output per hour has climbed by 5.1 per cent during the last four quarters, the biggest yearly rise since 2002.... The increase in productivity has helped businesses boost their profits and be more efficient. Labour costs fell by 4.4 per cent as the jump in output outpaced the uptick in compensation..

The flip side of the jobless recovery is a high productivity-growth recovery--and, with stagnant wages, a rise in the profit share...