Inside these posts: Productivity

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Hiring momentum builds, expected to continue

A year ago, a false start in business hiring came to a sudden end when the economy started to slow. But experts believe the nascent hiring boom has a better chance of weathering the economic headwinds this time around. Get the full story »

Survey: Employees on time for work more often

One bright side of the recession, at least for employers, is that employees are arriving on time more often. According to a CareerBuilder survey released this morning, 15 percent of workers confessed they arrived late to work once a week or more, down from 16 percent in 2009, and 20 percent in 2008. Get the full story »

Productivity up most in 8 years, labor costs drop

The work force was more efficient last year with productivity rising at the fastest pace in eight years. Labor costs fell for a second straight year, something that hasn’t happened in nearly five decades.

Productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, rose a strong 3.6 percent in 2010 after a 3.5 percent gain in 2009, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Both years represented the best showing since 2002. Labor costs dropped 1.5 percent last year after a 1.6 percent decline in 2009. Get the full story »

Private employers add jobs, manufacturing grows

U.S. private sector payrolls rose by the biggest amount in three years in November, lifting optimism about the job market ahead of Friday’s key employment report, while manufacturing data showed growth was intact.

U.S. private employers added a stronger-than-forecast 93,000 jobs in November, the biggest rise since November 2007, after an upwardly revised gain of 82,000 the month before, data by ADP Employer Services, which jointly developed the report with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, showed Wednesday. Get the full story »

Productivity shows modest rebound in 3rd quarter

The Labor Department says productivity grew at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the third quarter, a rebound from a decline of 1.8 percent in the second quarter. That was the biggest drop in nearly four years. Labor costs fell at a 0.1 percent rate in the third quarter after having risen 1.3 percent in the second quarter.

Productivity shows workers little more to give

Productivity in the spring fell by the largest amount in nearly four years while labor costs rose, signals that companies may have reached the limits of squeezing more work out of fewer workers.

Productivity has first fall since 2008

Worker productivity dropped this spring for the first time in more than a year, a sign that companies may need to step up hiring if they hope to grow.

Productivity declined at an annual rate of 0.9 percent in the April-to-June quarter after posting large gains throughout 2009, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Unit labor costs edged up 0.2 percent in the second quarter, the first increase since the spring of 2009.