US records biggest labor productivity decline in 75 years

In the US, nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 7.5% in the first quarter of 2022, the biggest quarterly decline in almost 75 years, according to latest data released on Thursday.

“This is the largest decline in quarterly productivity since the third quarter of 1947, when the measure decreased 11.7%,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a statement.

The market expectation for the January-March period was a decline of 5.4%.

Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 11.6% during the first three months of 2022.

The measure showed an increase of 7.2% over the last four quarters, the largest four-quarter increase since the third quarter of 1982, the bureau said.