Congratulations to the US worker.
The third quarter of 2007 was strong in terms of US productivity. The increase was 4.9% and well ahead of the 2.2% of last quarter. Also important to note is that the wage growth was at 4.7%. When productivity is slightly better than wages it is a win win situation. Basically, it means the standard of living has improved. People are getting paid and producing at a greater rate. It also means that producing the good or service was done more intelligently than before. It wasn’t just brute force. The workers found a better way. Often times this gets lost in the shuffle. Important decisions were made and resources were used more efficiently.
Revision: The Labor Department changed the productivity increase from 4.9% to an increase of 6.3%
Revised again: From 6.3% to 6.0% (2/6/08)
Congratulations to the US worker.
Working Thoughts 