NAM says 2nd quarter results met expectations

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 12 Aug 2002 21:50

The Labor Department’s second quarter preliminary report stated that overall non-farm productivity grew at an annual rate of 1.1%, while manufacturing productivity increased 4.9%.

The slowdown was no surprise, following the unsustainable 8.6% productivity growth during the first quarter, said Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers. The recent figures represent a continuing trend of strong productivity growth in manufacturing.

“Comparing productivity growth to the same quarter a year earlier takes much of the short term volatility out of data and offers a more reliable comparison,” said Jasinowski. “Seen in this light, output per hour accelerated for the fourth consecutive quarter, with productivity growth advancing by 4.7 non-farm business and 5.3 in manufacturing. These numbers are strong evidence that productivity growth is continuing to recover at a rapid pace from the cyclical downturn experienced last year.”

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