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. 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.
