U.S. productivity climbs 2.2% in third quarter

• November 1, 2018
• realestate
• Business & Markets, Real Estate, Real Estate Finance, Your Real Estate Life

U.S. productivity rose at 2.2% annual pace in the third quarter after a strong gain in the spring, marking the best back-to-back performance in four years in a good sign for the economy.

Companies increased the amount of goods and services they produced, known as output, by 4.1% in the three months stretching from July to September.

The hours workers spent on the job rose by a smaller 1.8%, the government said Thursday.

Productivity also rose at a revised 3% annual rate in the second quarter. Rising productivity in the long run is the key to a higher standard of living.

Even with two straight strong gains, however, productivity only rose at a mild 1.3% rate over the past 12 months. That matches the annual average from 2007 to 2017, but it’s well below the 2.1% average since the end of World War Two.