Second Quarter Business Productivity Declines

Washington, DC, Aug. 9, 2011 -- Business productivity declined in the second quarter, the Labor Department said Tuesday, and first-quarter figures were revised lower.

Second-quarter productivity fell by a 0.3% annual rate, according to the Labor Department. Productivity in the first quarter was revised lower to a 0.6% decline instead of a 1.8% increase.

The economy hasn’t recorded two consecutive drops in productivity since the second half of 2008.

The unit cost of labor, meanwhile, rose by a 2.2% annual rate on top of a 4.8% increase in the first quarter. e overtime.