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Older workers more productive--study

Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:56 by Jaspreet Virk

Worrying that your younger counterparts, who are enthusiastic and vibrant, might take over your jobs sooner or later? Fear not, as a new study has found that older workers are more productive than younger colleagues.

Google Cloud Connect brings MS Office files online

Fri, 02/25/2011 - 15:10 by Yasser Ali

Google has released a free tool that would allow users of Microsoft Office to upload their Word files online and to work on them through Google Docs. The move is meant to challenge Microsoft Office’s monopoly in the productivity segment.

Second-quarter productivity revised lower

Fri, 09/03/2010 - 12:07 by Rakhi

Washington -- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said non-farm output rose slower than previously announced, as did the number of hours worked in the second quarter.

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.

Production outpacing labor costs

Fri, 02/05/2010 - 13:59 by Rakhi Kaptiyal

Washington -- Non-farm productivity and work hours rose in the fourth quarter while unit labor costs fell, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday.

In the fourth quarter, productivity rose 6.2 percent on an annual basis while output rose 7.2 percent and hours worked gained 1 percent. Labor costs, meanwhile, dropped 4.4 percent, a sign that the economic recovery has begun with a step up in production without additional hiring.

"The increase in productivity, 6.2 percent, (is) outpacing the increase in hourly compensation (of 1.5 percent)," the bureau said.

For the year, productivity rose 5.1 percent, the largest four-quarter gain since the end of the first quarter of 2002.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).

Everything's Adding Up at Anadarko

Thu, 11/05/2009 - 16:09 by Toby Shute

Elsewhere today, I looked at a new rig productivity index that attempts to quantify how much more efficient our domestic onshore exploration and production companies have become. Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) is one of the prime examples of how these companies are doing more with less.

Fourth quarter non-farm labor costs ease

Thu, 02/05/2009 - 23:13 by Rakhi Kaptiyal

Washington -- Fourth-quarter U.S. productivity rose faster than labor costs, indicating a drop in compensation pressure for non-farm business, the government said Thursday.

On an annually adjusted basis, non-farm business productivity rose 3.2 percent in the quarter, higher than the expected increase of 1.1 percent.

Labor costs rose 1.8 percent, lower than the forecast of 2.9 percent.

The news translates to the potential for higher profits for U.S. markets, but also points to weak production, which rose 2.8 percent for the year among non-farm businesses.

In the quarter, manufacturing productivity declined 3 percent, including a 13.4 percent drop in durable goods and a 7.6 percent rise in non-durable goods. For the year, manufacturing for durable goods rose 1.4 percent. For the year, non-durable goods production was up 1 percent.