(BLS: Washington) -- The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported preliminary productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all persons--for the second quarter of 2009. The seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the second quarter were:

6.3 percent in the business sector and 6.4 percent in the nonfarm business sector.

Productivity gains in both sectors were the largest since the third quarter of 2003, and were due to hours worked declining faster than output.

In manufacturing, the preliminary productivity changes in the second quarter were:

5.3 percent in manufacturing, 3.9 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 2.0 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing.

The increases in productivity in all manufacturing sectors were the result of hours falling faster than output. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 11 percent of U.S. business-sector employment, tend to vary more from quarter to quarter than data for the aggregate business and nonfarm business sectors. Second-quarter measures are summarized in table A.

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