Jeffrey Bartash of MarketWatch reports that third-quarter productivity increased at a 2.2% pace. Bartash writes:
One of the biggest drivers of a strong U.S. economy, worker productivity, showed another healthy gain in the summer and early fall, in a good omen for the current expansion.
U.S. productivity rose at a brisk 2.2% annual rate in the third quarter, the government said Thursday. It increased by a revised 2.1% in the prior quarter.
Productivity is a magic elixir of sorts for economic growth and a higher standard of living. Businesses earn higher profits and can afford to pay employees more when workers produce more goods and services in the same amount of time as they did the year before. […]
Economists chalk up the increase to the use of new technologies such as automation, better workplace practices and more experienced employees, among other things. The pandemic forced companies to figure out how to work more efficiently, especially with so many people working from home.
The big open question is, can the recent surge in productivity last? […]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA 0.12% and S&P 500 SPX 0.51% were set to open higher in Thursday trading. Stocks are at record highs.
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