US Productivity Revised Lower

U.S. employees and businesses weren’t as productive in first quarter as originally estimated and worker pay saw the biggest drop since at least 1947, according to newly revised figures.

Separately, ADP reported that the U.S. created 135,000 private-sector jobs in May, below Wall Street expectations.

In recent action, stocks turned lower after the ADP and productivity reports.

In the first quarter, growth in productivity was taken down two pegs to 0.5% from a first read of 0.7%, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That matched the forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch.

The sharpest revisions revolved around labor costs, though. Hourly compensation sank 3.8% in the first quarter instead of rising 1.2% as initially reported. That’s the biggest drop since the Labor Department began keeping track in 1947, with the largest decline occurring in the manufacturing sector.

via MarketWatch

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