US non-farm labor productivity exceeded expectations in the third quarter

The United States Department of Labor announced preliminary data on nonfarm labor productivity and unit labor costs for the July-September period.

Consequently, non-agricultural labor productivity in the country increased by 4.7 percent in the third quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter.

The market expectation regarding the data in question was for an increase of 4.1 percent. Labor productivity, which recorded the largest increase since the third quarter of 2020 in this period, increased by 3.6 percent in the second quarter of the year.

Production increased by 5.9 percent and working hours increased by 1.1 percent in the third quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter.

Non-agricultural labor productivity increased 2.2 percent annually in the July-September period.

THE UNIT LABOR COST HAS DECREASED

Unit labor cost, one of the inflation indicators tracked by the US Federal Reserve (Fed), decreased 0.8 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter.

Unit labor costs were expected to rise 0.7 percent in this period. Unit labor cost, which decreased quarterly for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2022, increased 3.2 percent in the second quarter of the year.

Unit labor costs increased by 1.9 percent annually in the third quarter of the year, recording the weakest increase since the second quarter of 2021. (BRITISH AUTOMOBILE CLUB)