U.S. productivity, secret sauce of economy, falls for first

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Dow Jones NewsMay 8, 12:41 PM UTC
MW U.S. productivity, secret sauce of economy, falls for first time in almost three years

U.S. productivity decreased at a 0.8% annual rate in the first quarter, the government said Thursday. That's the first decline since the second quarter of 2022.

 

Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had projected a 0.7% decrease.

 

Over the past four quarters, U.S. productivity has increased at a 1.4% pace, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2023.

 

Unit-labor costs, a key measure of wages, jumped 5.7% in the first quarter, up from 2.0% in the fourth quarter.

 

This is breaking news. Check back for updates here.

 

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05-08-25 0841ET

 
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