More bad news comes in for the economy as Productivity, which has been a sore spot for the U.S. economy over the past few years, has now declined in three straight quarters, according to data released Tuesday. Â Reports indicated that Productivity in the second quarter unexpectedly fell 0.5%, well below expectations, the Labor Department said. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.3% gain in productivity in the quarter.
Excerpt From Market Watch:
Productivity is down 0.4% from a year earlier, the first year-over-year decline since the second quarter of 2013. Output of goods and services increased at a 1.2% clip in the second quarter. Hours worked rose 1.8%. Productivity measures how much an employee produces in an hour of work. Higher productivity is regarded as the key to a rising standard of living over time because it tends to lead to higher pay for workers and larger profits for companies.