US productivity declines by -5.2% in the third-quarter, wages higher amid staff shortages

Jeffry Bartash
Market Watch
Tue, 07 Dec 2021 08:36 UTC

© Reuters / Tom Brenner

Flextronics International Apple factory employees work on Apple Mac Pro computer assembly in Austin, TX, US

The decline in U.S. productivity in the third quarter was revised to show a 5.2% drop instead of 5% as previously reported, the government said Tuesday. The increase in output was raised a tick to 1.8% and hours worked were revised up to 7.4% from 7%. Unit-labor costs jumped 9.6% vs. the original 8.3% reading, reflecting higher wages that companies are paying to attract more employees amid a major shortage of workers.

Comment: A decrease in productivity but higher labour costs, amidst soaring inflation and energy prices, along with unprecedented government debt, is unsustainable and there are no signs that any of these issues will or can be resolved anytime soon; quite the contrary, with the manufactured coronavirus hysteria, vaccine mandates and looming lockdowns, it's looking like things are set to get much, much unpredictable:

• Where Did All The People Go?
• G.E., Lockheed Martin employees in US walk out in protest over vaccine mandates
• Lockdowns cause largest cargo delivery backlog EVER - inflation, unemployment and food shortages expected to worsen

And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Winter is Coming - Signs of Impending Economic Disaster