Productivity crashed over the past year as the economy added workers at a rapid clip even as economic output grew slowly, data from the Department of Labor showed on Tuesday.
The productivity of the business sector fell 2.5 percent compared with a year ago, the largest decline ever recorded in data going back to the first quarter of 1948, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday
meh, productivity is a metric that includes cost of labor. We all know that wages are going up and inflation is biting at costs. Or at least they were. This metric is backward-looking. So tell us something we don't know.
A forward looking metric indicates inflation is receding.
- The ISM® Prices Index registered 60 percent in July, 18.5 percentage points lower compared to the June reading of 78.5 percent, indicating raw materials prices increased for the 26th consecutive month, at a much slower rate. The Prices Index has been at or above 60 percent for 23 straight months. The month-over-month decline of 18.5 percentage points is the fourth biggest decline on record (since 1948 and the steepest since a 22.1-percentage point drop in June 2010. “The slowing in price increases is being driven by (1) volatility in the energy markets, (2) softening in the copper, steel, aluminum and corrugate markets and (3) a significant decrease in chemical demand. Notably, 21.5 percent of respondents reported paying lower prices in July, compared to 8.3 percent in June,” says Fiore. A Prices Index above 52.6 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials.
Note the timeline indicated. Prices for raw materials have been increasing for 26 consecutive months. Biden has been in office for 17 months. Say what you will. The fact is, this is Trump's inflation.
"as the economy added workers"
Jobs added when a Republican president -- good
Jobs added when a Democratic president -- bad
We see you.