Productivity Cools, Jobless Claims Rise

[underpants]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/economy_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. business productivity rose at a slower-than-expected pace in the fourth quarter and at the lowest rate in a year and jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week, government reports showed on Thursday.

Non-farm business productivity, or worker output per hour, increased at a 2.7 percent annual rate in the final three months of the year after an upwardly revised 9.5 percent pace in the previous quarter, the Labor Department (news - web sites) said.

The advance was the slowest since a 1.5 percent gain in the final quarter of 2002 and was lower than the 3.0 percent clip expected by analysts.

[mbperrin]

1. Let's face it - productivity is measured as fewer people doing the same

amount of work that more used to do - there's a limit.

As layoffs increase, fear increases on the job and people work harder and give up benefits and conditions just to stay employed. Eventually, you just can't work any harder, and so when more people are laid off, productivity actually falls.

That's next.

[mhr]

2. Higher Productivity Justifies Less Hiring

Let's cheer when we see it reach zero or a negative number.

Unemployment up means the Bushco fiasco rolls on unabated.

Sad times for those of us unemployed.

[Taeger]

3. ultimate efficiency

For these creaps, ultimate efficiency would be a slave workforce. Thats what they are moving our economy to. At this clip, we will be a society of serfs and lords in twenty years.

END WTO, END NAFTA!!!!!

[Moderator]

4. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=347904