WSJ: "Shedding workers" & "cutting back hours" = "sharp rise in Q1 productivity." USA! USA! USA! [View All]

[Amerigo Vespucci]

:eyes:

Productivity Was Revised Higher For 1st Quarter, as Labor Costs Slowed

By Brian Blackstone

WASHINGTON -- U.S. productivity rose sharply in the first quarter despite a weak economy, according to revised government data, suggesting companies have responded quickly to soft demand by shedding workers and cutting back on hours.

Meanwhile, activity in the U.S. nonmanufacturing sector grew more slowly in May.

Labor costs, meanwhile, grew at their slowest annual pace since 2004, which should provide some relief to Federal Reserve policymakers that soaring food and energy prices aren't leading to a wage-price spiral like they did in the 1970s and early 1980s.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121258256655144793.html?mod=fpa_whatsnews