Published Thu, Aug 6, 2026 · 09:19 PM
[WASHINGTON] US worker productivity grew faster than expected in the second quarter, and further gains are likely as businesses invest in artificial intelligence, which is expected to keep wage inflation contained.
Non-farm productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at a 1.4 per cent annualised rate last quarter after advancing at an upwardly revised 0.8 per cent pace in the January-March quarter, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday (Aug 6).
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast productivity would grow at a 0.6 per cent rate following a previously reported 0.3 per cent pace of increase in Q1.
Productivity grew at a 2.2 per cent rate from a year ago. It has grown at a 2.1 per cent rate from Q4 2019 through Q2 2026. Economists and policymakers are anticipating an AI build-out to boost productivity and curb inflation through a reduction in labour costs.
Unit labour costs – the price of labour per single unit of output – increased at a 1.3 per cent rate last quarter, after rising at a downwardly revised 1.3 per cent pace in Q1.
Economists had expected unit labour costs to increase at a 2.1 per cent rate last quarter after a previously reported 1.8 per cent pace of growth in the January-March quarter.
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Labour costs grew at a 1.4 per cent rate from a year ago. Hourly compensation increased at a 2.7 per cent rate last quarter and grew at a 3.7 per cent pace from a year ago. REUTERS
