Bureau of Labor Statisitcs - US hourly Wages Fall At Fastest Pace Since 1947 First Quarter

Bureau of Labor Statiitcs ^ | June 5, 2013 | Staff

[lbryce]

Economic News Release
SHARE ON: share on facebook share on twitter share on linkedin First Quarter 2013, Revised

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL 13-1101 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Technical information: (202) 691-5606 dprweb@bls.gov www.bls.gov/lpc Media contact (202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov

PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS First Quarter 2013, Revised

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 0.5 percent annual rate during the first quarter of 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The increase in productivity reflects increases of 2.1 percent in output and 1.6 percent in hours worked. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.) From the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2013, productivity increased 0.9 percent as output and hours worked increased 2.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. (See table A.)

Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked of all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.

Unit labor costs in nonfarm businesses fell 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the combined effect of a 3.8 percent decrease in hourly compensation and the 0.5 percent increase in productivity. The decline in hourly compensation is the largest in the series, which begins in 1947. However, over the last four quarters hourly compensation increased 2.0 percent and unit labor costs rose 1.1 percent. (See table A.)

BLS defines unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity; increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor costs and increases in output per hour tend to reduce them.

Manufacturing sector productivity increased 3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2013, as output rose 5.3 percent and hours worked increased 1.8 percent. In the durable and nondurable manufacturing sectors, productivity increased 3.5 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively. From the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2013, manufacturing sector productivity rose 1.6 percent as output grew 2.5 percent and hours rose 0.9 percent. Unit labor costs in manufacturing decreased 10.0 percent in the first quarter of 2013, due to both the 3.5 percent increase in productivity and a 6.9 percent decrease in hourly compensation. Over the last four quarters, hourly compensation increased 4.5 percent and unit labor costs increased 2.8 percent. (See tables A and 3.)

Preliminary first-quarter 2013 measures were announced today for the nonfinancial corporate sector. Productivity increased 0.3 percent in the first quarter as output and hours increased 3.3 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively. Output per hour rose 0.6 percent over the last four quarters. (See tables C and 6.)

The concepts, sources, and methods underlying manufacturing output and nonfinancial corporate output measures differ from those used in the business and nonfarm business output series; these output measures are not directly comparable. See Technical Notes for a more detailed explanation.

The measures released today are based on more recent source data than were available for the preliminary report. Revisions were also based on corrections to hours worked and related measures for the business and nonfarm business sectors for the first quarter of 2013. (See text box.)

Revised Measures

Tables B and C present previous and revised productivity and related measures for the major sectors: business, nonfarm business, and manufacturing sectors, as well as the nonfinancial corporate sector.

In the first quarter of 2013, nonfarm business productivity growth increased 0.5 percent, down slightly from the preliminary estimate, as output was revised downward more than hours worked. Unit labor costs were revised downward due solely to the large downward revision to hourly compensation. In the business sector, output per hour was revised upward for the first quarter of 2013, due primarily to correction of an hours calculation error. The error principally affected the farm sector, which is part of the business sector. In the manufacturing sector, productivity increased 3.5 percent in first-quarter 2013, slightly less than reported May 2. Manufacturing unit labor costs fell much more than previously reported due to a large downward revision to hourly compensation.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, nonfarm business and business sector productivity were unrevised from the preliminary release May 2. Productivity was revised upward slightly in the manufacturing sector. In contrast to the first-quarter 2013 revisions, large upward revisions to hourly compensation in fourth-quarter 2012 drove large upward revisions to unit labor costs in all sectors.

In the nonfinancial corporate sector, fourth-quarter productivity growth was revised upwards due solely to an upward revision in output; hours were unrevised. (See table C.) ____________

The preliminary Productivity and Costs press release for second-quarter 2013 is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 16, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT)

============================================================================== Productivity and Costs Data Corrections

The Productivity and Costs data released on May 2 contained incorrect hours worked and related measures, including labor productivity, for the business and nonfarm business sectors for the first quarter of 2013. Today’s news release incorporates corrected hours data in addition to other source data that have been revised. Preliminary measures will not be re-released. ==============================================================================

====================================================================================================== Table A. Revised first-quarter 2013 measures: percent change from previous quarter at annual rate (Q to Q) and from same quarter a year ago (Y to Y)

Sector Nonfarm Durable Nondurable Business Business Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y Q to Q Y to Y ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Productivity 0.5 0.9 2.0 1.2 3.5 1.6 3.5 2.7 3.9 0.5 Output 2.1 2.4 3.1 2.4 5.3 2.5 6.4 3.8 4.2 1.2 Hours 1.6 1.5 1.1 1.2 1.8 0.9 2.8 1.0 0.2 0.7 Hourly compensation -3.8 2.0 -3.1 2.3 -6.9 4.5 -8.1 5.4 -4.9 2.7 Real hourly compensation -5.2 0.3 -4.6 0.6 -8.3 2.8 -9.4 3.6 -6.4 1.0 Unit labor costs -4.3 1.1 -5.0 1.1 -10.0 2.8 -11.2 2.6 -8.5 2.3 ====================================================================================================== Table B. Revised and previous measures: first quarter 2013 and fourth quarter 2012

Sector Nonfarm Durable Nondurable Business Business Manufacturing Manufacturing Manufacturing Revised Previous Revised Previous Revised Previous Revised Previous Revised Previous ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Percent change, annual rate, first quarter 2013

Productivity 0.5 0.7 2.0 1.2 3.5 3.8 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.6 Output 2.1 2.5 3.1 3.3 5.3 5.6 6.4 6.5 4.2 4.7 Hours 1.6 1.8 1.1 2.1 1.8 1.7 2.8 2.7 0.2 0.1 Hourly compensation -3.8 1.2 -3.1 0.9 -6.9 3.3 -8.1 3.0 -4.9 3.7 Real hourly compensation -5.2 -0.3 -4.6 -0.6 -8.3 1.8 -9.4 1.4 -6.4 2.2 Unit labor costs -4.3 0.5 -5.0 -0.3 -10.0 -0.5 -11.2 -0.6 -8.5 -0.8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Percent change, annual rate, fourth quarter 2012

Productivity -1.7 -1.7 -1.6 -1.6 2.4 2.2 3.3 3.3 1.4 1.0 Output 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.5 2.7 2.6 3.8 3.8 1.5 1.2 Hours 2.4 2.4 2.1 2.1 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.2 Hourly compensation 9.9 2.7 10.2 3.0 16.7 0.4 19.0 0.2 12.4 0.6 Real hourly compensation 7.5 0.4 7.8 0.8 14.2 -1.8 16.4 -2.0 10.0 -1.6 Unit labor costs 11.8 4.4 12.0 4.7 14.0 -1.8 15.2 -3.0 10.9 -0.4 ====================================================================================================== Table C. Nonfinancial corporations: preliminary first-quarter 2013 and revised fourth-quarter 2012 productivity and cost measures

Real Hourly hourly Unit Implicit Produc- compen- compen- labor Unit price tivity Output Hours sation sation costs profits deflator ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Percent change, annual rate, first quarter 2013

Q to Q 0.3 3.3 3.0 -1.2 -2.7 -1.5 -6.3 -0.2 Y to Y 0.6 2.2 1.6 2.5 0.8 1.9 0.5 1.4

Percent change, annual rate, fourth quarter 2012

Revised 5.6 7.5 1.8 7.1 4.7 1.4 1.8 -0.6 Previous 2.3 4.1 1.8 1.5 -0.7 -0.7 5.2 -0.6

======================================================================================================

Technical notes Table 1. Business sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and prices, seasonally adjusted Table 2. Nonfarm business sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, and prices, seasonally adjusted Table 3. Manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs, seasonally adjusted Table 4. Durable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs, seasonally adjusted Table 5. Nondurable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs, seasonally adjusted Table 6. Nonfinancial corporate sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, unit profits, and prices, seasonally adjusted Sources and footnotes for tables HTML version of the entire news release

The PDF version of the news release Table of Contents

[DannyTN]

Do you have that chart in real wages?

[DannyTN]

Do you have that chart in real wages?

[Will88]

You need to find out what the chart represents. $24.00 per hour? That’s definitely not the average hourly pay of Americans who’re actually paid by the hour.

The chart might represent loaded hourly compensation, including all benefitis, i.e., medical insurance benefit, company FICA and unemployment, contributions to retirement, etc.

Or it might be a calculation on an average hourly basis of pay for all employees including salaried employees.

But $24.00 per hour is definitely not just the basic hourly pay of workers paid strictly by the hour.

[Para-Ord.45]

“My legacy will be an America brought down to the level of the rest of the world.”

-Barack Obama

Get it yet? He`s a destroyer, not a builder.

[Chode]

[WashingtonSource]

Bump

[kabar]

Over the past 40 years, a period in which U.S. GDP per capita more than doubled after adjusting for inflation, the annual earnings of the median prime-aged male have actually fallen by 28 percent. Indeed, males at the middle of the wage distribution now earn about the same as their counterparts in the 1950s! This decline reflects both stagnant wages for men on the job, and the fact that, compared with 1969, three times as many men of working age don’t work at all.

[1rudeboy]

Brookings? Really?

[autumnraine]

Yep. It’s that sucking sound.

[mc5cents]

To what.

[autumnraine]

Spoke with a lady yesterday who got the word on Friday that her salary is to be reduced by 1/3. That’s a chunk. Sadly, she doesn’t know if she can find a job making the reduced rate in this economy, but what does she do when food is going up, gas, has mortgage based on the income she has made for over a decade.

It sucks out there right now.

[boxlunch]

And Obama takes over power distribution grid in the name of his “Climate Strategy”. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3034444/posts I believe he said something like, “electricity prices will necessarily skyrocket”, or something. So... lower wages, higher energy costs, millions of illegals.... I miss our beautiful, wonderful country. How one man could work so much devastation (well he had plenty of help from several hundred other national politicians and judges.)

---

US hourly Wages Fall At Fastest Pace Since 1947 First Quarter

You ain’t seen nothing yet - wait until Obamacare is fully implemented AND the traitorous Congresscritters and their boss zero have granted AMNESTY for 20 millions and their 30 million family members arrive. THE AMERICA YOU AND I KNEW IS OVER.

[kabar]

Facts are facts.

[1rudeboy]

That’s why Brookings is the economic arm of the DNC, right?

[fella]

US hourly Wages Fall At Fastest Pace Since 1947 First Quarter

I was conceived in the first quarter of 1947. It looks as if things have now come full circle.

[kabar]

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn. I don't see the Dem agenda in this study. It doesn't mention immigration, which I believe is the reason why wages have fallen the greatest for males without a high school degree and with only a high school degree. Massive inflows of low skilled labor reduces wages. It is a matter of supply and demand.

Harvard Professor George Borjas has come up with similar conclusions. Immigration and the American Worker

[expat_panama]

The decline in hourly compensation is the largest in the series, which begins in 1947.

Thanks; so the decline wasn't all US employees but just those for non-farm businesses.  That, and we're seeing how the quote was lifted from a BLS' context that was explaining how "over the last four quarters hourly compensation increased 2.0 percent..."   I knew the headline was bogus.

[expat_panama]

Do you have that chart in real wages?

You don't need me for that, the fed's got the options right there and if you want you can divide the wage numbers by the cpi etc.  What you might like better is the BEA's numbers for total income (not just wages) plus population and inflation adjustments--

--and we're looking at the average American after tax real incomes at--

Jan-06	$32,024	Jul-08	$32,974	Jan-11	$32,763
Apr-06	$32,235	Oct-08	$32,878	Apr-11	$32,587
Jul-06	$32,306	Jan-09	$32,417	Jul-11	$32,421
Oct-06	$32,646	Apr-09	$32,313	Oct-11	$32,346
Jan-07	$32,721	Jul-09	$31,733	Jan-12	$32,588
Apr-07	$32,697	Oct-09	$31,615	Apr-12	$32,713
Jul-07	$32,741	Jan-10	$31,990	Jul-12	$32,708
Oct-07	$32,837	Apr-10	$32,425	Oct-12	$33,350
Jan-08	$33,238	Jul-10	$32,455	Jan-13	$32,570
Apr-08	$33,826	Oct-10	$32,469

--which is really not what we'd rate as "economic devastation".

[freedomfiter2]

The elites of both parties must be celebrating.

[PghBaldy]

Note, we have had many readings of this type during the Obama years “Worst _________ since 19____.” I would expect that many of these things are the worst since before the last depression, but records of many things only started after WWII, it seems. What I am saying is the records don’t go back far enough to show what a mess Obama has made.