|
The Labor Department reported nonfarm productivity increased at a 4.6% annualized rate in the July-September quarter, this followed 10.6% rate of growth in the second quarter. Labor costs fell at a 6.6% rate in the third quarter. The economy expanded at a 33.1% annualized rate in the third quarter, this following a 31.4% pace of contraction in the second quarter. There still remains a large gap between output and unemployment, with the most recent figures showing an economy recouping about two-thirds of output and slightly more than half of the job losses.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey reported that job openings rose to 6.65 million in October from a revised 6.49 million in September. Job openings increased in health care and social assistance and state and local government education. Decreases came in the areas of retail trade, accommodation and food services, and finance and insurance. Hires were little changed at 4.1%. The number of separations increased to 5.1 million (+263,000). Within separations, the quits rate was unchanged at 2.2% while the layoffs and discharges rate worsened to 1.2%. About 1.7 workers competed for each opening in October, a decrease over September’s 1.9 workers.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 % in November on a seasonally adjusted basis after being unchanged in October. The all items index increased 1.2% over the last 12-months before seasonal adjustment. For the month, the index declined 0.1 prior to seasonal adjustment. The food index declined 0.1% in November following a 0.2% increase in October. The energy index rose for the sixth month increasing by 0.4%. The increase in the all items index was broad-based, with no component accounting for more than a quarter of the increase. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2% after being unchanged in October.
| 
