News
US Productivity Posts Biggest Drop in Two Decades
A disappointing Labor Department report on US productivity raised concerns that declining corporate profits could be on the way. Employee output per hour decreased at a 1.9% annualized rate over the past three months while the prior three months decrease was revised to 2.1%. Bloomberg reports that the decline on average was the biggest since the first six months of 1993. A series of issues could be to blame for the decline, ranging from harsher weather to a stronger dollar. Slowing efficiency can prevent economic growth from gaining long-term momentum. [BB]
