Non-farm output per hour rose at a 2.4% annual rate in the second quarter after a 1.8% drop in the first quarter, exceeding the historic average of 2.1%. Small differences in productivity growth can meaningfully raise output per hour and future living standards. Productivity gains have accumulated over decades as workers learn efficiency and firms invest in advanced equipment. The U.S. now produces 4.5 times more goods and services per person than in 1947 while average hours worked have fallen. At least three current forces are boosting productivity, notably heavy investment in automation and expanded remote work.
How much did you get done at work today? How everyone answers that question determines one of the most important statistics in the economy, and it's quietly been on the upswing.Non-farm workers' output per hour rose at a 2.4% annual rate in the second quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier this month. Productivity bounced back after a 1.8% downturn in the first quarter.
Those steady increases in annual productivity have added up tremendously over time, as people have learned how to work more efficiently and businesses have invested in ever more advanced equipment. The U.S. economy currently produces 4.5 times more goods and services per person than it did in 1947, while people actually work fewer hours on average, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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