US unit labour costs jumped in the second quarter

Unit labour costs Stateside grew more quickly than expected in the second quarter of 2016, as labour productivity lagged and workers´ hourly compensation accelerated sharply.

US non-farm labour productivity declined at a quarter-on-quarter annualised rate of 0.6% (consensus: -0.5%) over the three months to the end of June, according to revsied figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In comparison to a year ago it was 0.4% lower.

Combined with a 3.7% over the quarter jump in hourly compensation, lacklustre productivity resulted in unit labour costs moving higher at a 4.3% clip (consensus: 2.0%) versus the previous three-month stretch.

Compared to year-ago levels, hourly compensation was up by 2.2% and unit labor costs by another 2.6%.