Second-quarter productivity revised lower

Factory output was pegged at 2.6 percent growth and a 3.6 percent growth was listed for hours worked, a report said Thursday.

The Labor Department put output at 1.6 percent growth with the increase in hours worked at 3.5 percent.

The jump in hours worked is still the the largest quarterly gain since the first quarter of 2006, when hours rose 4.1 percent.

With hours rising faster than output, productivity or output per hour fell 1.8 percent, rather than 0.9 percent, as previously announced.

Over a 12-month period, however, output has risen faster than work hours, putting labor costs 2.8 percent lower than a year ago.

Put another way, the recession triggered massive layoffs, but the recovery, to date, has not triggered major hiring. Companies, essentially, have maintained or increased productivity, but with a smaller workforce.

The Labor Department said compensation costs rose 1.1 percent during the quarter.

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