U.S. worker productivity has dropped significantly, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, leaving some economists alarmed by the decrease in a measure that could mean trillions of dollars to the economy, reports New Orleans City Business.
Labor productivity is the value of the goods and services produced on average by an hour’s work. Energy-producing and tourism-dependent states took the biggest hits in productivity: Alaska was down 7.1% to $99.80, Louisiana down 6.1% to $72.90, Nevada down 5.9% to $71.06, Hawaii down 5.3% to $75.39, and North Dakota down 5.1% to $90.28.
Lower productivity raises the cost of goods, slowing the economy and threatening wages. That hurts residents’ quality of life and the profits that feed tax coffers. Read the entire story.
