Worker Productivity, and Wages, Slowed in July

Via
NY Times

WASHINGTON (AP) — The efficiency of America’s workers grew at a slightly slower pace in the spring as companies sought to produce more with leaner work forces.

Workers’ compensation growth also slowed.

The Labor Department reported Friday that productivity — the amount an employee produces for every hour on the job — grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the quarter. That was down from a 2.6 percent growth rate in the first quarter.

Economists were forecasting productivity to pick up slightly to a 2.7 percent pace.

Meanwhile, growth in compensation — wages and benefits — also slowed as companies were less generous amid troubles in the economy and uncertainty about their own prospects.

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