USDL 99-347
TRANSMISSION OF THIS
MATERIAL IS EMBARGOED
UNTIL 8:30 A.M. EST,
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1999.

Internet address:      http://stats.bls.gov/lprhome.htm
Historical, technical  
  information:         (202) 691-5606
Current data:          (202) 606-7828
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902


                           PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS
                             Third Quarter 1999


   The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today
reported revised productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all
persons--for the third quarter of 1999.  The seasonally adjusted annual rates
of productivity growth in the third quarter were:

               4.7 percent in the business sector, and
               4.9 percent in the nonfarm business sector.

The increase in labor productivity for the business sector was the largest
since a similar increase in the second quarter of 1996.  In the nonfarm
business sector, the third-quarter increase in labor productivity was the
largest since a 7.4-percent rise in the fourth quarter of 1992.

   In manufacturing, revised productivity increases in the third quarter
were:
               3.9 percent in manufacturing,
               4.5 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and
               3.8 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing.

   The third-quarter productivity increase in manufacturing occurred as
output rose 4.2 percent and hours of all persons working in the sector grew
0.3 percent.  Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 17
percent of U.S. business sector employment, tend to vary more from quarter to
quarter than data for the more aggregate business and nonfarm business
sectors.  Third-quarter measures are summarized in table A and appear in
detail in tables 1 through 5.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table A. Productivity and costs: Revised third-quarter 1999 measures
(Seasonally adjusted annual rates)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                            
                                                         Real      
                                               Hourly    hourly    Unit
                   Produc-                     compen-   compen-   labor
Sector             tivity    Output    Hours   sation    sation    costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------                   
                      Percent change from preceding quarter
Business            4.7       6.3       1.6     4.6       1.9      -0.1
Nonfarm business    4.9       6.6       1.6     4.7       2.1      -0.2
Manufacturing       3.9       4.2       0.3     6.3       3.6       2.3
  Durable           4.5       8.4       3.8     5.9       3.3       1.4
  Nondurable        3.8      -1.2      -4.8     6.3       3.6       2.4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Percent change from same quarter a year ago
Business            3.2       4.8       1.6     4.9       2.6       1.7
Nonfarm business    3.1       4.9       1.8     4.6       2.3       1.5
Manufacturing       5.7       4.3      -1.3     4.9       2.5      -0.8
  Durable           8.6       7.6      -0.9     4.8       2.5      -3.5
  Nondurable        2.1       0.1      -2.0     4.9       2.6       2.7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   
   The data sources and methods used in the preparation of the manufacturing
series differ from those used in preparing the business and nonfarm business
series, and these measures are not directly comparable.  Output measures for
business and nonfarm business are based on measures of gross domestic product
prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of
Commerce.  Quarterly output measures for manufacturing reflect indexes of
industrial production independently prepared by the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System.  See Technical Notes for further information on data
sources.

Business

   From the second quarter to the third quarter of 1999, business sector
productivity rose at an annual rate of 4.7 percent as output increased 6.3
percent and hours of all persons engaged in the sector increased 1.6 percent
(table 1).  Employment in the business sector rose in the third quarter by
2.1 percent, but this increase was partially offset by a 0.5-percent decline
in average weekly hours at work.

   Hourly compensation increased 4.6 percent during the third quarter of
1999.  This measure includes wages and salaries, supplements, employer
contributions to employee benefit plans, and taxes.  Real hourly
compensation, which takes into account changes in consumer prices, rose 1.9
percent in the third quarter of 1999.

   Unit labor costs declined slightly in the third quarter, -0.1 percent.
Unit labor costs had increased 4.2 percent in the second quarter of 1999.
The implicit price deflator for the business sector, which reflects changes
both in unit labor costs and in unit nonlabor payments, increased at a 0.7
percent annual rate in the third quarter of 1999, after rising 1.1 percent in
the previous quarter.

Nonfarm business

   Output per hour of all persons in the nonfarm business sector increased
4.9 percent during the third quarter of 1999.  This was the largest
productivity gain since the fourth quarter of 1992, when it grew at a 7.4
percent annual rate.  Output increased 6.6 percent in the third quarter of
1999 and hours of all persons rose 1.6 percent (table 2). As in the larger
business sector, an employment increase, 2.2 percent, was mitigated by a
decline in average weekly hours at work of 0.6 percent.

   Hourly compensation increased at a 4.7 percent annual rate in the third
quarter of 1999, similar to a 4.8 percent increase one quarter earlier.  When
the rise in consumer prices is taken into account, real hourly compensation
rose at a 2.1 percent annual rate in the third quarter.

   Unit labor costs fell 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 1999.  Labor
costs account for approximately 63 percent of all nonfarm business payments.
The implicit price deflator for nonfarm business rose 0.7 percent, reflecting
the decline in unit labor costs and a 2.3-percent increase in unit nonlabor
payments.  In the second quarter, the implicit price deflator rose 1.4
percent, reflecting a 4.2-percent increase in unit labor costs and a 3.1
percent decline in unit nonlabor payments.

Manufacturing

   Productivity increased 3.9 percent in manufacturing in the third quarter
of 1999, as output rose 4.2 percent and hours of all persons grew 0.3 percent
(seasonally adjusted annual rates).  In durable goods industries,
productivity grew 4.5 percent in the third quarter as output and hours rose
8.4 and 3.8 percent, respectively.  In the nondurable goods industries, third-
quarter productivity grew 3.8 percent as output dropped 1.2 percent and hours
fell further, -4.8 percent (tables 3, 4, and 5).

   Hourly compensation of all manufacturing workers rose 6.3 percent during
the third quarter of 1999 (seasonally adjusted annual rates).  In durable
goods manufacturing, hourly compensation rose 5.9 percent during the third
quarter.  The increase in nondurable goods manufacturing was higher, 6.3
percent.  When the increase in consumer prices is taken into account, real
hourly compensation for all manufacturing workers rose 3.6 percent in the
third quarter.

   Unit labor costs in manufacturing rose 2.3 percent in the third quarter
of 1999.  Unit labor costs rose 1.4 percent in durable goods manufacturing,
following five consecutive quarters of declines in this measure.  In
nondurable goods manufacturing, unit labor costs in the third quarter rose
2.4 percent.
   
Nonfinancial Corporations

   Third-quarter 1999 measures of productivity and costs also were announced
for nonfinancial corporations (tables B and 6).  Output per all-employee hour
grew at a 4.7 percent annual rate, compared with a 3.2 percent increase in
the previous quarter.  Output increased 7.1 percent in the third quarter of
1999, and hours of all employees increased 2.3 percent (seasonally adjusted
annual rates).  The sector includes all corporations doing business in the
United States, except those classified as depository institutions,
nondepository institutions, security and commodity brokers, insurance
carriers, regulated investment offices, small business investment offices,
and real estate investment trusts.
   

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table B.  Nonfinancial corporations: Third-quarter 1999 productivity and
cost measures
(Seasonally adjusted annual rates)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                           
                                             Real                     
                                    Hourly   hourly  Unit             Implicit
           Produc-                  compen-  compen- labor   Unit     price
Period     tivity   Output  Hours   sation   sation  costs   profits  deflator
------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                                   
                 Percent change from preceding quarter
1999 III    4.7      7.1     2.3     4.6      2.0     -0.1    -8.0     -0.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Percent change from same quarter a year ago
1999 III    3.8      5.7     1.8     4.8      2.4      0.9    -4.7      0.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   Hourly compensation increased 4.6 percent in the third quarter; it rose
4.8 percent in the second quarter.  When the rise in consumer prices is taken
into account, real hourly compensation increased 2.0 percent in the third
quarter and 1.3 percent in the second.

   Unit labor costs for nonfinancial corporations declined 0.1 percent in
the third quarter, the first decline since the third quarter of 1997 when
they fell 1.5 percent. Unit nonlabor costs increased 3.0 percent in the third
quarter and 1.8 percent in the second quarter.  Unit profits declined at an
8.0 percent annual rate. The implicit price deflator for the output of
nonfinancial corporations declined 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 1999.
In the previous quarter, the implicit price deflator rose 1.1 percent.

Revised Measures

   Current and previous measures for the third quarter of 1999 for the
business, nonfarm business, and manufacturing sectors are compared in table
C.  In the business and nonfarm business sectors, increases in productivity
and output are larger than those reported on Nov. 12, based on the
information available at that time.  Unit labor cost measures for these
sectors are correspondingly lower.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table C. Previous and revised productivity and related measures
Quarterly percent change at seasonally adjusted annual rate
---------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                          
                                                      Real      
                                             Hourly   hourly    Unit
                   Produc-                   compen-  compen-   labor
Sector             tivity   Output   Hours   sation   sation    costs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                                
                             Third quarter 1999
Business:                                                       
  Previous          4.0       5.4     1.4      4.7      2.0       0.7
  Current           4.7       6.3     1.6      4.6      1.9      -0.1
Nonfarm business:                                               
  Previous          4.2       5.7     1.5      4.8      2.2       0.6
  Current           4.9       6.6     1.6      4.7      2.1      -0.2
Manufacturing:                                                  
  Previous          3.4       3.4     0.0      6.2      3.5       2.7
  Current           3.9       4.2     0.3      6.3      3.6       2.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


   In manufacturing, rates of growth in productivity were revised upward in
the third quarter due to revisions in the output measures.  Unit labor costs
were revised downward by similar amounts (tables 3-5 and appendix tables 1-
3).  The quarterly measures of productivity, output, and unit labor costs for
manufacturing were revised back to 1992 due to the incorporation of revised
indexes of industrial production.  Annual measures for 1997 and 1998 also
were affected.  These indexes, published by the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, were changed to incorporate additional and revised
source data and updated information on seasonal trends.  (See Federal Reserve
Statistical Release G.17, "Industrial production and capacity utilization: a
revision," Nov. 30, 1999.)




                              Next release date

   The next release of Productivity and Costs is scheduled for 8:30 AM EST,
Tuesday, February 8, 2000.  Preliminary fourth-quarter and annual 1999
measures will be released at that time.

   Scheduled release dates for productivity and costs measures for major
sectors of the U.S. economy in 2000 are:

     ------------------------------------------------------
     Reference period                   2000 release date
     1999:                              
     Fourth quarter, Annual             February 8
     Fourth quarter, Annual (revised)   March 7
     2000:                              
     First quarter                      May 4
     First quarter (revised)            June 6
     Second quarter                     August 8
     Second quarter (revised)           September 6
     Third quarter                      November 2
     Third quarter (revised)            December 6
     ------------------------------------------------------

          
   These dates are based on presently available schedules for the release of
underlying source data in 2000.  Each issue of Productivity and Costs
contains a "Next release date" paragraph that readers should use to confirm
the dates above.




                          Industry Unit Labor Costs

Report  939, to be released in December, will present annual indexes of  unit
labor  costs beginning in 1987 for 173 industries at the 3-digit  SIC  level.
Unit  labor cost series have been calculated for all manufacturing and retail
trade industries at the 3- and 4-digit SIC level and for selected 2-, 3-, and
4-digit  industries in mining, transportation, communications and  utilities,
wholesale  trade,  finance, and services industries.   The published  indexes
and  rates  of  change in unit labor costs, labor productivity,  and  related
series will be available at http://stats.bls.gov/iprhome.htm on the BLS  web-
site.     Requests  for  published  or  unpublished  data  may  be  sent   to
dipsweb@bls.gov by e-mail, or data may be requested by calling  the  Division
of Industry Productivity Studies at (202) 691-5618.
TECHNICAL NOTES

Labor Hours: Hours data for the labor productivity and costs measures include
hours for all persons working in the sector-wage and salary workers, the self-
employed, and unpaid family workers.  The primary source of hours and
employment data is the BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, which
provides monthly survey data on the number of jobs held by wage and salary
workers in nonfarm establishments.  The CES also provides average weekly paid
hours of production and nonsupervisory workers in these establishments.
Average weekly paid hours of nonproduction and supervisory workers are
estimated by the Office of Productivity and Technology.  Weekly paid hours are
adjusted to hours at work using the BLS Hours at Work survey, conducted for
this purpose.
	Data from the BLS Current Population Survey (CPS) are used for farm
labor; in the nonfarm sector, the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA)
prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the Department of
Commerce and the CPS are used to measure labor input for government
enterprises, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.

Output: Business sector output is an annual-weighted index constructed after
excluding from gross domestic product (GDP) the following outputs: General
government, nonprofit institutions, paid employees of private households, and
the rental value of owner-occupied dwellings. Corresponding exclusions also
are made in labor inputs. Business output accounted for about 77 percent of
the value of GDP in 1996. Nonfarm business, which also excludes farming,
accounted for about 76 percent of GDP in 1996.
	Annual indexes for manufacturing and its durable and nondurable goods
components are constructed by deflating current-dollar industry value of
production data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census with deflators from the
BEA.   These deflators are based on data from the BLS producer price program
and other sources.  The industry shipments are aggregated using annual
weights, and intrasector transactions are removed.  Quarterly manufacturing
output measures are based on the index of industrial production prepared
monthly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System adjusted to
be consistent with annual indexes of manufacturing sector output prepared by
BLS.  Durables include the following 2-digit SIC industries: Primary metal
industries; fabricated metal products; nonelectrical machinery; industrial and
commercial machinery and computer equipment; electronic and other electrical
equipment; transportation equipment; instruments; lumber and lumber products;
furniture and fixtures; stone, clay, and glass and concrete products; and
miscellaneous manufactures. Nondurables include: Food and kindred products,
tobacco products, textile mill products, apparel products, paper and allied
products, printing and publishing, chemicals and chemical products, petroleum
refining and related industries, rubber and plastic products, and leather and
leather products.
	Nonfinancial corporate output is an annual-weighted index constructed
by excluding from GDP the following outputs: General government; nonprofit
institutions; employees of private households; the rental value of owner-
occupied dwellings; unincorporated business; and those corporations which are
depository institutions, nondepository institutions, security and commodity
brokers, insurance carriers, regulated investment offices, small business
investment offices, and real estate investment trusts. Nonfinancial
corporations accounted for about 54 percent of the value of GDP in 1996.

Productivity: These productivity measures describe the relationship between
real output and the labor time involved in its production. They show the
changes from period to period in the amount of goods and services produced
per hour. Although these measures relate output to hours at work of all
persons engaged in a sector, they do not measure the specific contribution of
labor, capital, or any other factor of production. Rather, they reflect the
joint effects of many influences, including changes in technology; capital
investment; level of output; utilization of capacity, energy, and materials;
the organization of production; managerial skill; and the characteristics and
effort of the work force.

	Information in this release will be made available to sensory-
impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT;
TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577.





  Table 1. Business sector:   Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs,
  and prices, seasonally adjusted
                                                             Real
     Year       Output per             Hours     Compensa-   compensa-   Unit     Unit non-   Implicit
     and        hour of                of all    tion per    tion per    labor    labor pay-  price
     quarter    all persons  Output    persons   hour (1)    hour (2)    costs    ments (3)   deflator (4)
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Indexes 1992=100

  1997       I     106.3      120.0     112.9     112.5       100.1      105.9       114.5      109.1
            II     107.1      121.8     113.7     113.2       100.4      105.7       115.9      109.5
           III     108.1      123.2     114.0     114.6       101.2      106.0       116.0      109.7
            IV     108.4      124.4     114.7     116.4       102.4      107.4       114.1      109.9

        ANNUAL     107.5      122.3     113.8     114.2       101.1      106.2       115.1      109.5

  1998       I     109.7      126.9     115.7     117.8       103.4      107.5       114.2      110.0
            II     109.8      127.5     116.1     119.4       104.4      108.8       112.6      110.2
           III     110.7      128.9     116.4     121.2       105.6      109.5       112.1      110.4
            IV     111.9      131.2     117.2     122.7       106.5      109.6       112.1      110.5

        ANNUAL     110.5      128.6     116.4     120.3       105.1      108.8       112.7      110.3

  1999       I     112.7      132.5     117.5     124.2       107.4      110.2       112.1      110.9
            II     113.0      133.1     117.8     125.7       107.8      111.3       110.9      111.2
           III    r114.3     r135.1    r118.3    r127.1      r108.3     r111.3      r111.5     r111.4
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

  1997       I       1.3        5.8       4.4       3.4         1.0        2.1         2.4        2.2
            II       3.4        6.2       2.7       2.6         1.5       -0.7         4.9        1.4
           III       3.6        4.8       1.1       4.8         3.0        1.1         0.2        0.8
            IV       1.2        3.9       2.7       6.7         4.8        5.4        -6.2        0.7

        ANNUAL       2.2        5.4       3.1       3.7         1.5        1.5         1.4        1.5

  1998       I       4.6        8.1       3.4       4.9         4.2        0.3         0.4        0.4
            II       0.6        2.2       1.6       5.5         3.9        4.9        -5.6        0.8
           III       3.4        4.4       0.9       6.1         4.7        2.6        -1.9        0.9
            IV       4.3        7.2       2.8       4.9         3.3        0.6        -0.1        0.4

        ANNUAL       2.8        5.1       2.2       5.3         3.9        2.4        -2.1        0.7

  1999       I       3.0        3.9       0.9       4.9         3.6        1.9         0.2        1.3
            II       0.8        1.9       1.0       5.1         1.5        4.2        -4.1        1.1
           III      r4.7       r6.3      r1.6      r4.6        r1.9      r-0.1        r2.0       r0.7
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

  1997       I       2.1        5.5       3.4       3.6         0.8        1.5         1.7        1.6
            II       1.7        5.1       3.3       3.2         1.0        1.4         1.7        1.5
           III       2.6        5.7       3.0       3.5         1.4        0.9         2.1        1.4
            IV       2.4        5.2       2.7       4.4         2.6        1.9         0.2        1.3

        ANNUAL       2.2        5.4       3.1       3.7         1.5        1.5         1.4        1.5

  1998       I       3.2        5.8       2.5       4.7         3.4        1.5        -0.3        0.8
            II       2.5        4.7       2.2       5.5         4.0        2.9        -2.8        0.7
           III       2.4        4.6       2.1       5.8         4.4        3.3        -3.4        0.7
            IV       3.2        5.5       2.2       5.4         4.0        2.1        -1.8        0.6

        ANNUAL       2.8        5.1       2.2       5.3         3.9        2.4        -2.1        0.7

  1999       I       2.8        4.4       1.6       5.4         3.8        2.5        -1.9        0.8
            II       2.9        4.3       1.4       5.3         3.2        2.3        -1.5        0.9
           III      r3.2       r4.8       1.6       4.9         2.6       r1.7       r-0.5        0.8
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See footnotes following Table 6.                                       December 7, 1999
  r=revised                                                              Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics





  Table 2. Nonfarm business sector:   Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs,
  and prices, seasonally adjusted
                                                             Real
     Year       Output per             Hours     Compensa-   compensa-   Unit     Unit non-   Implicit
     and        hour of                of all    tion per    tion per    labor    labor pay-  price
     quarter    all persons  Output    persons   hour (1)    hour (2)    costs    ments (3)   deflator (4)
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Indexes 1992=100

  1997       I     106.1      120.2     113.3     112.2        99.8      105.7       115.0      109.1
            II     106.9      122.0     114.1     112.9       100.1      105.6       116.6      109.6
           III     107.8      123.4     114.5     114.1       100.8      105.8       117.0      109.9
            IV     108.1      124.6     115.3     115.9       101.9      107.2       115.3      110.1

        ANNUAL     107.2      122.5     114.3     113.8       100.7      106.1       115.9      109.7

  1998       I     109.3      127.1     116.3     117.2       102.9      107.3       115.8      110.4
            II     109.5      127.9     116.8     118.8       103.9      108.5       114.1      110.5
           III     110.4      129.3     117.1     120.6       105.1      109.3       113.1      110.7
            IV     111.5      131.6     118.0     122.0       105.9      109.4       112.7      110.6

        ANNUAL     110.2      129.0     117.1     119.7       104.5      108.6       113.9      110.5

  1999       I     112.2      132.9     118.4     123.3       106.6      109.8       113.1      111.0
            II     112.4      133.5     118.7     124.7       106.9      111.0       112.2      111.4
           III    r113.8     r135.6     119.2     126.2       107.5     r110.9      r112.8      111.6
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

  1997       I       0.9        5.5       4.5       3.6         1.2        2.7         2.2        2.5
            II       3.3        6.2       2.8       2.6         1.5       -0.6         5.7        1.7
           III       3.3        4.6       1.3       4.4         2.6        1.0         1.3        1.1
            IV       1.2        4.1       2.9       6.4         4.5        5.1        -5.7        0.8

        ANNUAL       2.0        5.3       3.3       3.6         1.4        1.6         1.9        1.7

  1998       I       4.4        8.3       3.7       4.8         4.1        0.4         1.8        0.9
            II       0.9        2.4       1.4       5.6         3.9        4.6        -5.8        0.5
           III       3.1        4.4       1.2       6.2         4.7        3.0        -3.2        0.6
            IV       4.1        7.3       3.1       4.6         2.9        0.5        -1.6       -0.3

        ANNUAL       2.8        5.2       2.4       5.2         3.8        2.4        -1.8        0.8

  1999       I       2.7        4.0       1.3       4.2         2.8        1.4         1.5        1.5
            II       0.6        1.8       1.3       4.8         1.2        4.2        -3.1        1.4
           III      r4.9       r6.6      r1.6      r4.7        r2.1      r-0.2        r2.3        0.7
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

  1997       I       1.8        5.4       3.6       3.5         0.7        1.7         1.8        1.7
            II       1.5        5.1       3.5       3.1         1.0        1.6         2.2        1.8
           III       2.3        5.5       3.1       3.5         1.4        1.1         2.9        1.8
            IV       2.2        5.1       2.9       4.2         2.4        2.0         0.8        1.5

        ANNUAL       2.0        5.3       3.3       3.6         1.4        1.6         1.9        1.7

  1998       I       3.0        5.8       2.7       4.5         3.2        1.5         0.7        1.2
            II       2.4        4.8       2.3       5.3         3.8        2.8        -2.2        0.9
           III       2.4        4.8       2.3       5.7         4.3        3.3        -3.3        0.7
            IV       3.1        5.6       2.4       5.3         3.9        2.1        -2.3        0.5

        ANNUAL       2.8        5.2       2.4       5.2         3.8        2.4        -1.8        0.8

  1999       I       2.7        4.5       1.7       5.1         3.6        2.4        -2.3        0.6
            II       2.6        4.4       1.7       4.9         2.9        2.3        -1.6        0.8
           III      r3.1       r4.9       1.8       4.6         2.3       r1.5       r-0.3        0.8
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See footnotes following Table 6.                                       December 7, 1999
  r=revised                                                              Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


  Table 3. Manufacturing sector:   Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
  seasonally adjusted
                                                                              Real
       Year           Output per                  Hours       Compensa-       compensa-      Unit 
       and            hour of                     of all      tion per        tion per       labor
       quarter        all persons     Output      persons     hour (1)        hour (2)       costs
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Indexes 1992=100

  1997       I           r116.9       r122.7        105.0        111.8           99.5         r95.7
            II           r118.4       r124.9        105.5        112.6           99.9         r95.1
           III           r120.9       r127.3        105.3        113.6          100.3         r94.0
            IV           r122.0       r129.6        106.2        115.5          101.5         r94.6

        ANNUAL           r119.6       r126.1        105.5        113.4          100.4         r94.8

  1998       I           r122.7       r130.6        106.4        117.0          102.7         r95.3
            II           r123.9       r131.5        106.1        118.6          103.7         r95.7
           III           r126.3       r132.6        105.0        120.6          105.1         r95.5
            IV           r128.2       r134.4        104.9        121.4          105.4         r94.7

        ANNUAL           r125.3       r132.3        105.6        119.4          104.3         r95.3

  1999       I           r130.4       r135.2        103.7        122.8          106.2         r94.1
            II           r132.2       r136.8        103.5        124.5          106.8         r94.2
           III           r133.5       r138.3       r103.6        126.4          107.7         r94.7
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

  1997       I             r4.0         r7.1          3.0          5.5            3.0          r1.4
            II             r5.5         r7.4          1.8          2.9            1.8         r-2.4
           III              8.4         r7.8         -0.6          3.6            1.8         r-4.5
            IV             r3.9         r7.4          3.3          6.8            4.9          r2.7

        ANNUAL             r5.0         r6.9          1.8          3.7            1.5         r-1.3

  1998       I             r2.4         r3.3          0.9          5.4            4.7          r3.0
            II             r3.9         r2.6         -1.2          5.4            3.8          r1.5
           III             r7.8         r3.4         -4.1          6.9            5.4         r-0.9
            IV             r6.1         r5.6         -0.5          2.9            1.2         r-3.1

        ANNUAL             r4.8         r4.9          0.1          5.3            3.9          r0.5

  1999       I             r7.3         r2.5         -4.5          4.5            3.1         r-2.7
            II             r5.5         r4.9         -0.5          5.8            2.2          r0.3
           III             r3.9         r4.2         r0.3         r6.3           r3.6          r2.3
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

  1997       I             r4.4         r6.9          2.4          3.1            0.3         r-1.2
            II             r4.8         r6.5          1.6          3.3            1.2         r-1.4
           III             r5.4         r6.7          1.2          3.7            1.6         r-1.6
            IV             r5.5         r7.4          1.9          4.7            2.9         r-0.7

        ANNUAL             r5.0         r6.9          1.8          3.7            1.5         r-1.3

  1998       I             r5.0         r6.5          1.4          4.7            3.3         r-0.4
            II             r4.6         r5.3          0.6          5.3            3.8          r0.6
           III             r4.5         r4.2         -0.3          6.1            4.7          r1.6
            IV             r5.0         r3.7         -1.2          5.1            3.8          r0.1

        ANNUAL             r4.8         r4.9          0.1          5.3            3.9          r0.5

  1999       I             r6.3         r3.5         -2.6          4.9            3.4         r-1.3
            II             r6.7         r4.1         -2.4          5.0            3.0         r-1.6
           III             r5.7         r4.3        r-1.3         r4.9            2.5         r-0.8
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See footnotes following Table 6.                                December 7, 1999
  r=revised                                                       Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


  Table 4. Durable manufacturing sector:   Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
  seasonally adjusted
                                                                              Real
       Year           Output per                  Hours       Compensa-       compensa-      Unit 
       and            hour of                     of all      tion per        tion per       labor
       quarter        all persons     Output      persons     hour (1)        hour (2)       costs
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Indexes 1992=100

  1997       I           r125.6       r137.5        109.5        109.4           97.3         r87.1
            II           r128.6       r141.7        110.2        110.2           97.7         r85.7
           III           r131.9       r145.6        110.4        110.9           98.0         r84.1
            IV           r134.3       r149.3        111.2        113.2           99.5         r84.3

        ANNUAL           r130.1       r143.5        110.3        110.9           98.2         r85.3

  1998       I           r135.7       r151.7        111.8        114.7          100.7         r84.5
            II           r138.0       r153.8        111.4        116.2          101.6         r84.2
           III           r142.4       r157.1        110.4        118.3          103.0         r83.1
            IV           r145.7       r160.8        110.4        118.9          103.2         r81.6

        ANNUAL           r140.4       r155.9        111.0        117.0          102.2         r83.3

  1999       I           r149.1       r162.0        108.7        120.3          104.0         r80.7
            II           r152.9       r165.7        108.4        122.1          104.7         r79.9
           III           r154.6       r169.0       r109.4        123.9         r105.6         r80.2
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

  1997       I             r4.8        r10.9          5.8          5.6            3.1          r0.7
            II             r9.9        r12.8          2.6          2.8            1.6         r-6.5
           III            r10.7        r11.4          0.6          2.8            1.1         r-7.2
            IV              7.4        r10.6          3.0          8.3            6.3           0.8

        ANNUAL             r7.1        r10.2          2.9          3.3            1.1         r-3.5

  1998       I             r4.3         r6.5          2.2          5.5            4.8          r1.2
            II             r7.1         r5.7         -1.4          5.5            3.8         r-1.5
           III            r13.2         r9.0         -3.7          7.2            5.7         r-5.3
            IV             r9.6         r9.6          0.0          2.2            0.6         r-6.8

        ANNUAL             r7.9         r8.6          0.6          5.5            4.1         r-2.3

  1999       I             r9.7         r3.1         -6.0          4.6            3.2         r-4.7
            II            r10.5         r9.3         -1.1          6.5            2.8         r-3.7
           III             r4.5         r8.4         r3.8         r5.9           r3.3          r1.4
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

  1997       I             r5.9         r9.9          3.8          2.3           -0.4         r-3.3
            II             r6.6         r9.4          2.6          2.9            0.7         r-3.5
           III             r7.5        r10.0          2.3          3.2            1.1         r-4.0
            IV             r8.2        r11.4          3.0          4.8            3.0         r-3.1

        ANNUAL             r7.1        r10.2          2.9          3.3            1.1         r-3.5

  1998       I             r8.1        r10.3          2.1          4.8            3.4         r-3.0
            II             r7.4         r8.5          1.1          5.5            4.0         r-1.7
           III             r7.9         r7.9          0.0          6.6            5.2         r-1.2
            IV             r8.5         r7.7         -0.7          5.1            3.7         r-3.2

        ANNUAL             r7.9         r8.6          0.6          5.5            4.1         r-2.3

  1999       I             r9.9         r6.8         -2.8          4.8            3.3         r-4.6
            II            r10.7         r7.7         -2.7          5.1            3.1         r-5.1
           III             r8.6         r7.6        r-0.9         r4.8           r2.5         r-3.5
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See footnotes following Table 6.                                December 7, 1999
  r=revised                                                       Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


  Table 5. Nondurable manufacturing sector:   Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
  seasonally adjusted
                                                                              Real
       Year           Output per                  Hours       Compensa-       compensa-      Unit 
       and            hour of                     of all      tion per        tion per       labor
       quarter        all persons     Output      persons     hour (1)        hour (2)       costs
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Indexes 1992=100

  1997       I            109.8        108.8         99.0        114.8          102.1         104.5
            II           r110.0       r109.1         99.2        115.7          102.6        r105.1
           III           r111.7       r110.1         98.6        117.0          103.3        r104.8
            IV           r111.6       r111.0         99.5        118.2          104.0        r105.9

        ANNUAL           r110.8       r109.8         99.1        116.4          103.0        r105.1

  1998       I           r111.7       r110.9         99.3        119.7          105.1        r107.2
            II           r111.6       r110.6         99.1        121.3          106.1        r108.7
           III            112.0        109.6         97.9        123.1          107.3         109.9
            IV           r112.6       r109.8         97.5        124.3          107.9        r110.4

        ANNUAL           r112.0       r110.2         98.4        122.1          106.6        r109.0

  1999       I           r113.7       r110.3         97.0        125.7          108.7        r110.6
            II           r113.4       r110.1         97.1        127.2          109.1        r112.2
           III           r114.4       r109.7        r95.9        129.2          110.1        r112.9
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

  1997       I             r3.9         r3.0         -0.9          4.8            2.3          r0.8
            II             r0.7         r1.3          0.7          3.1            1.9          r2.4
           III             r6.1         r3.5         -2.4          4.6            2.9         r-1.4
            IV            r-0.2          3.6          3.7          4.4            2.5          r4.6

        ANNUAL             r3.1         r3.2          0.1          4.1            1.9          r1.0

  1998       I             r0.3        r-0.6         -0.9          5.0            4.3          r4.7
            II            r-0.3        r-1.1         -0.9          5.4            3.8          r5.7
           III             r1.5        r-3.3         -4.7          6.2            4.8          r4.6
            IV             r1.8         r0.5         -1.3          3.9            2.2          r2.0

        ANNUAL             r1.1         r0.4         -0.6          4.9            3.5          r3.8

  1999       I             r4.0         r1.8         -2.1          4.6            3.2          r0.6
            II            r-1.0        r-0.8          0.3          4.9            1.3          r5.9
           III             r3.8         -1.2        r-4.8          6.3            3.6          r2.4
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

  1997       I             r3.2         r3.6          0.4          4.0            1.2          r0.8
            II             r3.1         r3.3          0.2          3.9            1.7           0.7
           III             r3.4         r2.9         -0.5          4.2            2.1          r0.8
            IV             r2.6         r2.9          0.2          4.2            2.4          r1.6

        ANNUAL             r3.1         r3.2          0.1          4.1            1.9          r1.0

  1998       I             r1.7         r1.9          0.2          4.3            2.9          r2.6
            II             r1.5         r1.3         -0.1          4.9            3.4          r3.4
           III             r0.3        r-0.4         -0.7          5.3            3.9          r4.9
            IV             r0.8        r-1.1         -2.0          5.1            3.8          r4.3

        ANNUAL             r1.1         r0.4         -0.6          4.9            3.5          r3.8

  1999       I             r1.8        r-0.5         -2.3          5.0            3.5          r3.2
            II             r1.6        r-0.4         -2.0          4.9            2.9          r3.3
           III             r2.1         r0.1        r-2.0          4.9            2.6          r2.7
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See footnotes following Table 6.                                December 7, 1999
  r=revised                                                       Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


  Table 6. Nonfinancial corporations:   Productivity, hourly compensation, unit labor costs, unit profits,
  and prices, seasonally adjusted
 
                Output                      Hourly    Real                Unit     Total    Unit   Implicit
      Year      per all-                    compen-   hourly     Unit     non-     unit     pro-   price
      and       employee          Employee  sation    compen-    labor    labor    costs    fits   deflator
      quarter   hour      Output  hours      (1)      sation(2)  costs    costs(6) (7)      (8)      (4)
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Indexes 1992=100

  1997       I    110.1    125.5     114.0    111.2      98.9     101.0     99.8    100.7    155.6    105.3
            II    110.7    127.5     115.1    112.0      99.3     101.1     99.9    100.8    156.2    105.4
           III    112.4    130.2     115.8    113.3     100.0     100.7     99.2    100.3    161.1    105.4
            IV    113.2    132.3     116.9    115.1     101.2     101.6     98.6    100.8    155.3    105.3

        ANNUAL    111.7    128.9     115.4    113.0     100.0     101.1     99.4    100.6    157.1    105.3

  1998       I    114.2    134.6     117.8    116.4     102.2     101.9     98.0    100.8    153.7    105.2
            II    115.3    136.3     118.1    118.0     103.2     102.3     98.2    101.2    150.1    105.2
           III    117.0    138.7     118.6    119.8     104.4     102.4     98.0    101.2    152.6    105.5
            IV    117.9    140.6     119.3    121.3     105.3     102.9     99.2    101.8    145.3    105.5

        ANNUAL    116.2    137.5     118.4    119.0     103.9     102.4     98.4    101.3    150.4    105.3

  1999       I    119.1    142.6     119.7    122.7     106.1     103.0     98.4    101.7    149.5    105.7
            II    120.0    144.1     120.0    124.2     106.5     103.4     98.8    102.1    148.5    106.0
           III    121.4    146.6     120.7    125.6     107.0     103.4     99.5    102.3    145.4    105.9
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

  1997       I      1.8      6.1       4.3      3.6       1.2       1.8     -0.3      1.2      4.6      1.6
            II      2.3      6.4       4.0      2.7       1.5       0.3      0.5      0.4      1.6      0.5
           III      6.3      8.9       2.5      4.7       2.9      -1.5     -2.6     -1.8     13.0     -0.1
            IV      2.8      6.4       3.5      6.5       4.6       3.6     -2.5      1.9    -13.6     -0.2

        ANNUAL      3.0      6.6       3.5      3.6       1.4       0.6     -0.7      0.2      3.7      0.6

  1998       I      3.7      7.1       3.3      4.8       4.1       1.1     -2.6      0.0     -4.1     -0.5
            II      3.9      5.1       1.2      5.7       4.1       1.7      0.9      1.5     -9.1      0.2
           III      5.9      7.5       1.5      6.3       4.8       0.4     -0.7      0.1      6.8      0.9
            IV      3.2      5.6       2.3      4.9       3.3       1.7      4.9      2.6    -17.8     -0.1

        ANNUAL      4.0      6.7       2.6      5.3       3.9       1.3     -1.0      0.6     -4.3      0.0

  1999       I      4.1      5.7       1.6      4.7       3.3       0.6     -3.4     -0.5     12.0      0.8
            II      3.2      4.2       1.0      4.8       1.3       1.6      1.8      1.6     -2.6      1.1
           III      4.7      7.1       2.3      4.6       2.0      -0.1      3.0      0.7     -8.0     -0.3
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

  1997       I      2.6      6.2       3.5      3.5       0.7       0.8     -0.6      0.4      4.0      0.8
            II      2.5      6.2       3.5      3.1       0.9       0.6     -0.2      0.4      3.4      0.7
           III      3.6      7.2       3.5      3.5       1.4      -0.1     -0.6     -0.3      6.4      0.6
            IV      3.3      7.0       3.6      4.3       2.5       1.0     -1.2      0.4      0.9      0.5

        ANNUAL      3.0      6.6       3.5      3.6       1.4       0.6     -0.7      0.2      3.7      0.6

  1998       I      3.8      7.2       3.3      4.6       3.3       0.8     -1.8      0.1     -1.2     -0.1
            II      4.1      6.9       2.6      5.4       3.9       1.2     -1.7      0.4     -3.9     -0.1
           III      4.0      6.5       2.4      5.8       4.4       1.7     -1.2      0.9     -5.3      0.1
            IV      4.1      6.3       2.1      5.4       4.1       1.2      0.6      1.1     -6.5      0.1

        ANNUAL      4.0      6.7       2.6      5.3       3.9       1.3     -1.0      0.6     -4.3      0.0

  1999       I      4.3      6.0       1.7      5.4       3.9       1.1      0.4      0.9     -2.8      0.5
            II      4.1      5.7       1.6      5.2       3.2       1.1      0.6      0.9     -1.1      0.7
           III      3.8      5.7       1.8      4.8       2.4       0.9      1.5      1.1     -4.7      0.4
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See footnotes following Table 6.                                        December 7, 1999
  r=revised                                                               Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


 Appendix table 1.  Manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
 seasonally adjusted
                                                                              Real
       Year           Output per                  Hours       Compensa-       compensa-      Unit 
       and            hour of                     of all      tion per        tion per       labor
       quarter        all persons     Output      persons     hour (1)        hour (2)       costs
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Indexes 1992=100

  1992       I           98.3          97.8         99.5         98.4           99.4         100.1
            II           99.6          99.7        100.1         99.6           99.9         100.0
           III          100.8         100.7         99.9        100.7          100.4          99.9
            IV          101.3         101.7        100.4        101.2          100.1          99.9

        ANNUAL          100.0         100.0        100.0        100.0          100.0         100.0

  1993       I          101.9         102.7        100.8        101.5           99.9          99.6
            II          102.1         103.3        101.2        102.3           99.9         100.3
           III          101.8         103.4        101.5        103.1          100.2         101.2
            IV          102.9         105.0        102.0        104.0          100.4         101.1

        ANNUAL          102.2         103.6        101.4        102.7          100.2         100.5

  1994       I          103.8         106.1        102.2        105.1          101.1         101.2
            II          105.2         108.4        103.0        105.2          100.7         100.0
           III          105.8         110.0        104.0        105.8          100.5         100.0
            IV          106.5         111.8        105.1        106.5          100.6         100.0

        ANNUAL          105.3         109.1        103.6        105.6          100.8         100.3

  1995       I          107.8         113.3        105.0        106.8          100.2          99.1
            II          109.0         113.4        104.0        107.8          100.3          98.9
           III          110.0         114.0        103.7        108.4          100.3          98.6
            IV          110.9         114.7        103.4        108.6          100.0          97.9

        ANNUAL          109.4         113.8        104.0        107.9          100.2          98.6

  1996       I          112.0         114.8        102.6        108.5           99.2          96.9
            II          113.0         117.3        103.8        109.0           98.7          96.4
           III          114.7         119.3        104.1        109.6           98.8          95.6
            IV          115.7         120.6        104.2        110.3           98.7          95.4

        ANNUAL          113.8         118.0        103.7        109.3           98.9          96.0

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

  1992       I            5.9           3.3         -2.5          4.9            2.5          -1.0
            II            5.5           8.1          2.4          5.0            2.1          -0.5
           III            4.8           4.0         -0.8          4.3            1.8          -0.5
            IV            2.2           4.0          1.8          2.2           -1.1           0.1

        ANNUAL            5.1           4.7         -0.4          4.6            2.0          -0.4

  1993       I            2.5           4.1          1.5          1.1           -0.8          -1.4
            II            0.5           2.1          1.6          3.2            0.2           2.8
           III           -0.9           0.4          1.3          3.0            1.1           3.9
            IV            4.2           6.4          2.1          3.7            0.9          -0.6

        ANNUAL            2.2           3.6          1.4          2.7            0.2           0.5

  1994       I            3.5           4.3          0.8          4.1            2.8           0.6
            II            5.7           9.1          3.2          0.5           -1.7          -4.9
           III            2.1           5.8          3.7          2.3           -0.9           0.2
            IV            2.7           7.0          4.2          2.7            0.4           0.0

        ANNUAL            3.1           5.3          2.2          2.8            0.6          -0.2

  1995       I            5.2           5.2          0.0          1.2           -1.6          -3.7
            II            4.5           0.4         -4.0          3.5            0.4          -1.0
           III            3.6           2.3         -1.3          2.3            0.2          -1.2
            IV            3.4           2.5         -0.8          0.7           -1.3          -2.6

        ANNUAL            3.9           4.3          0.4          2.1           -0.5          -1.7

  1996       I            3.9           0.4         -3.4         -0.4           -3.2          -4.1
            II            3.9           9.0          4.9          1.9           -1.7          -1.9
           III            5.9           7.1          1.1          2.2            0.2          -3.5
            IV            3.8           4.3          0.5          2.8           -0.2          -0.9

        ANNUAL            4.1           3.7         -0.4          1.3           -1.3          -2.6

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

  1992       I            5.2           3.9         -1.2          5.0            2.5          -0.1
            II            5.7           5.5         -0.2          4.9            2.2          -0.8
           III            5.0           4.4         -0.5          4.6            1.9          -0.4
            IV            4.6           4.8          0.2          4.1            1.3          -0.5

        ANNUAL            5.1           4.7         -0.4          4.6            2.0          -0.4

  1993       I            3.7           5.0          1.3          3.1            0.5          -0.6
            II            2.5           3.5          1.0          2.7            0.0           0.2
           III            1.0           2.6          1.6          2.4           -0.2           1.3
            IV            1.6           3.2          1.6          2.7            0.3           1.2

        ANNUAL            2.2           3.6          1.4          2.7            0.2           0.5

  1994       I            1.8           3.3          1.4          3.5            1.2           1.7
            II            3.1           5.0          1.8          2.8            0.8          -0.3
           III            3.9           6.4          2.4          2.6            0.3          -1.2
            IV            3.5           6.5          3.0          2.4            0.2          -1.0

        ANNUAL            3.1           5.3          2.2          2.8            0.6          -0.2

  1995       I            3.9           6.7          2.7          1.7           -0.9          -2.1
            II            3.6           4.5          0.9          2.4           -0.4          -1.1
           III            4.0           3.7         -0.3          2.4           -0.2          -1.5
            IV            4.2           2.6         -1.5          1.9           -0.6          -2.1

        ANNUAL            3.9           4.3          0.4          2.1           -0.5          -1.7

  1996       I            3.8           1.4         -2.4          1.5           -1.0          -2.2
            II            3.7           3.5         -0.2          1.1           -1.5          -2.5
           III            4.3           4.7          0.4          1.1           -1.5          -3.0
            IV            4.4           5.2          0.8          1.6           -1.3          -2.6

        ANNUAL            4.1           3.7         -0.4          1.3           -1.3          -2.6

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See footnotes following Table 6.                                December 7, 1999
                                                                  Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


 Appendix table 2.  Durable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
 seasonally adjusted
                                                                              Real
       Year           Output per                  Hours       Compensa-       compensa-      Unit 
       and            hour of                     of all      tion per        tion per       labor
       quarter        all persons     Output      persons     hour (1)        hour (2)       costs
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Indexes 1992=100

  1992       I           97.8          97.5         99.7         98.4           99.3         100.6
            II           99.7          99.8        100.1         99.6           99.9         100.0
           III          100.7         100.5         99.9        100.7          100.4         100.1
            IV          101.9         102.2        100.3        101.3          100.1          99.4

        ANNUAL          100.0         100.0        100.0        100.0          100.0         100.0

  1993       I          103.2         104.0        100.7        101.6          100.0          98.5
            II          104.2         105.2        101.0        102.5          100.1          98.4
           III          103.5         105.3        101.7        103.2          100.3          99.7
            IV          105.9         108.5        102.5        104.2          100.7          98.4

        ANNUAL          104.2         105.7        101.5        102.9          100.3          98.8

  1994       I          107.0         110.2        103.0        105.2          101.2          98.3
            II          108.9         113.2        103.9        105.2          100.7          96.6
           III          110.2         115.9        105.2        105.7          100.4          96.0
            IV          110.9         118.2        106.6        106.4          100.5          96.0

        ANNUAL          109.3         114.4        104.7        105.6          100.8          96.7

  1995       I          113.0         120.5        106.7        106.8          100.1          94.5
            II          114.0         120.8        106.0        107.6          100.2          94.4
           III          115.3         122.2        106.0        108.1          100.0          93.7
            IV          116.9         124.1        106.2        107.7           99.2          92.1

        ANNUAL          114.8         121.9        106.2        107.5           99.9          93.7

  1996       I          118.6         125.1        105.5        106.9           97.8          90.1
            II          120.6         129.5        107.4        107.1           97.0          88.8
           III          122.7         132.3        107.8        107.5           96.9          87.6
            IV          124.1         134.0        108.0        108.0           96.6          87.0

        ANNUAL          121.5         130.2        107.2        107.4           97.1          88.3

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

  1992       I            5.2           2.3         -2.8          5.1            2.7          -0.1
            II            8.0           9.6          1.4          5.2            2.3          -2.6
           III            4.0           3.2         -0.8          4.5            2.0           0.5
            IV            5.0           6.9          1.8          2.2           -1.1          -2.7

        ANNUAL            6.0           4.7         -1.3          5.0            2.3          -1.0

  1993       I            5.3           7.1          1.7          1.5           -0.5          -3.7
            II            3.7           4.7          1.0          3.4            0.4          -0.3
           III           -2.6           0.4          3.0          2.6            0.7           5.3
            IV            9.6          12.9          3.0          4.3            1.5          -4.9

        ANNUAL            4.2           5.7          1.5          2.9            0.3          -1.2

  1994       I            4.3           6.4          2.0          3.7            2.3          -0.6
            II            7.4          11.5          3.8          0.1           -2.1          -6.8
           III            4.6           9.8          4.9          2.0           -1.1          -2.5
            IV            2.6           8.2          5.4          2.7            0.5           0.1

        ANNUAL            4.9           8.2          3.2          2.7            0.5          -2.1

  1995       I            7.7           8.1          0.4          1.3           -1.6          -5.9
            II            3.7           1.0         -2.6          3.2            0.1          -0.5
           III            4.8           4.8          0.0          1.6           -0.5          -3.1
            IV            5.4           6.2          0.8         -1.4           -3.4          -6.4

        ANNUAL            5.1           6.6          1.5          1.8           -0.9          -3.1

  1996       I            6.1           3.4         -2.6         -2.8           -5.6          -8.4
            II            6.9          14.8          7.4          0.5           -3.0          -6.0
           III            7.0           8.8          1.7          1.5           -0.5          -5.1
            IV            4.8           5.3          0.5          1.8           -1.2          -2.8

        ANNUAL            5.9           6.8          0.9         -0.2           -2.8          -5.7

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

  1992       I            5.7           3.5         -2.1          5.4            2.9          -0.3
            II            7.1           5.5         -1.4          5.4            2.7          -1.6
           III            5.7           4.2         -1.4          4.9            2.2          -0.8
            IV            5.6           5.4         -0.1          4.2            1.4          -1.3

        ANNUAL            6.0           4.7         -1.3          5.0            2.3          -1.0

  1993       I            5.6           6.7          1.0          3.3            0.7          -2.1
            II            4.5           5.4          0.9          2.9            0.2          -1.6
           III            2.8           4.7          1.8          2.4           -0.1          -0.4
            IV            3.9           6.2          2.1          2.9            0.5          -1.0

        ANNUAL            4.2           5.7          1.5          2.9            0.3          -1.2

  1994       I            3.7           6.0          2.2          3.5            1.2          -0.2
            II            4.6           7.7          2.9          2.6            0.6          -1.8
           III            6.5          10.1          3.4          2.5            0.1          -3.7
            IV            4.7           8.9          4.0          2.1           -0.1          -2.5

        ANNUAL            4.9           8.2          3.2          2.7            0.5          -2.1

  1995       I            5.6           9.4          3.6          1.5           -1.1          -3.8
            II            4.7           6.7          2.0          2.3           -0.5          -2.2
           III            4.7           5.5          0.7          2.2           -0.4          -2.4
            IV            5.4           5.0         -0.4          1.2           -1.3          -4.0

        ANNUAL            5.1           6.6          1.5          1.8           -0.9          -3.1

  1996       I            5.0           3.8         -1.1          0.1           -2.4          -4.6
            II            5.8           7.2          1.3         -0.5           -3.1          -6.0
           III            6.4           8.2          1.8         -0.5           -3.1          -6.5
            IV            6.2           8.0          1.7          0.3           -2.6          -5.6

        ANNUAL            5.9           6.8          0.9         -0.2           -2.8          -5.7

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See footnotes following Table 6.                                December 7, 1999
                                                                  Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


 Appendix table 3.  Nondurable manufacturing sector: Productivity, hourly compensation, and unit labor costs,
 seasonally adjusted
                                                                              Real
       Year           Output per                  Hours       Compensa-       compensa-      Unit 
       and            hour of                     of all      tion per        tion per       labor
       quarter        all persons     Output      persons     hour (1)        hour (2)       costs
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Indexes 1992=100

  1992       I           98.7          98.0         99.3         98.5           99.5          99.8
            II           99.5          99.7        100.2         99.7          100.0         100.2
           III          101.0         101.0        100.0        100.6          100.3          99.7
            IV          100.8         101.3        100.5        101.2          100.1         100.4

        ANNUAL          100.0         100.0        100.0        100.0          100.0         100.0

  1993       I          100.7         101.6        100.8        101.3           99.7         100.6
            II          100.0         101.5        101.5        102.1           99.7         102.1
           III          100.4         101.7        101.2        102.9          100.0         102.5
            IV          100.2         101.7        101.5        103.6          100.0         103.3

        ANNUAL          100.4         101.6        101.2        102.5           99.9         102.1

  1994       I          101.1         102.4        101.3        104.7          100.8         103.6
            II          102.2         104.1        101.8        105.0          100.5         102.8
           III          102.1         104.5        102.3        105.6          100.3         103.5
            IV          102.8         105.9        103.0        106.3          100.4         103.3

        ANNUAL          102.0         104.2        102.1        105.4          100.6         103.3

  1995       I          103.4         106.3        102.8        106.5           99.9         103.1
            II          104.8         106.2        101.3        107.5          100.0         102.6
           III          105.5         106.1        100.6        108.4          100.3         102.7
            IV          105.9         105.7         99.8        109.4          100.7         103.3

        ANNUAL          104.9         106.1        101.1        107.9          100.3         102.9

  1996       I          106.4         105.0         98.7        110.3          100.9         103.7
            II          106.7         105.6         99.0        111.3          100.9         104.3
           III          108.0         107.0         99.1        112.2          101.2         103.9
            IV          108.8         108.0         99.2        113.4          101.5         104.3

        ANNUAL          107.5         106.4         99.0        111.8          101.2         104.1

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Percent change from previous quarter at annual rate(5)

  1992       I            7.5           5.2         -2.1          4.6            2.2          -2.7
            II            3.2           7.1          3.8          4.9            2.0           1.7
           III            6.1           5.4         -0.6          3.9            1.5          -2.0
            IV           -0.6           1.3          1.9          2.4           -0.9           2.9

        ANNUAL            4.3           5.1          0.7          4.3            1.7           0.0

  1993       I           -0.3           1.0          1.3          0.5           -1.5           0.8
            II           -2.9          -0.5          2.5          3.1            0.0           6.1
           III            1.7           0.8         -0.9          3.2            1.3           1.4
            IV           -0.8           0.1          0.9          2.6           -0.1           3.4

        ANNUAL            0.4           1.6          1.2          2.5           -0.1           2.1

  1994       I            3.5           2.7         -0.8          4.5            3.2           1.0
            II            4.3           6.8          2.4          1.1           -1.1          -3.1
           III           -0.4           1.6          2.0          2.4           -0.8           2.8
            IV            3.0           5.7          2.6          2.4            0.2          -0.5

        ANNUAL            1.7           2.6          0.9          2.8            0.6           1.1

  1995       I            2.2           1.6         -0.6          1.1           -1.8          -1.1
            II            5.6          -0.5         -5.8          3.6            0.5          -1.9
           III            2.5          -0.5         -3.0          3.2            1.1           0.7
            IV            1.6          -1.5         -3.1          3.8            1.7           2.2

        ANNUAL            2.8           1.8         -1.0          2.4           -0.3          -0.4

  1996       I            1.9          -2.6         -4.5          3.5            0.5           1.6
            II            1.0           2.5          1.5          3.6           -0.1           2.5
           III            5.1           5.4          0.4          3.3            1.2          -1.7
            IV            3.0           3.6          0.6          4.4            1.3           1.4

        ANNUAL            2.5           0.3         -2.1          3.6            0.9           1.1

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Percent change from corresponding quarter of previous year

  1992       I            4.4           4.3         -0.1          4.6            2.2           0.2
            II            4.3           5.9          1.5          4.5            1.8           0.1
           III            4.6           5.3          0.6          4.4            1.7          -0.3
            IV            4.0           4.7          0.7          3.9            1.2          -0.1

        ANNUAL            4.3           5.1          0.7          4.3            1.7           0.0

  1993       I            2.1           3.7          1.6          2.9            0.2           0.8
            II            0.5           1.8          1.3          2.5           -0.2           1.9
           III           -0.5           0.7          1.2          2.3           -0.3           2.8
            IV           -0.6           0.3          0.9          2.3           -0.1           2.9

        ANNUAL            0.4           1.6          1.2          2.5           -0.1           2.1

  1994       I            0.3           0.8          0.4          3.3            1.1           3.0
            II            2.2           2.5          0.4          2.8            0.8           0.7
           III            1.6           2.8          1.1          2.6            0.3           1.0
            IV            2.6           4.2          1.5          2.6            0.4           0.0

        ANNUAL            1.7           2.6          0.9          2.8            0.6           1.1

  1995       I            2.3           3.9          1.6          1.7           -0.9          -0.5
            II            2.6           2.1         -0.5          2.4           -0.5          -0.2
           III            3.3           1.5         -1.7          2.6            0.0          -0.7
            IV            3.0          -0.3         -3.1          2.9            0.4           0.0

        ANNUAL            2.8           1.8         -1.0          2.4           -0.3          -0.4

  1996       I            2.9          -1.3         -4.1          3.6            1.0           0.6
            II            1.8          -0.6         -2.3          3.5            0.8           1.7
           III            2.4           0.9         -1.5          3.6            0.9           1.1
            IV            2.7           2.2         -0.5          3.7            0.8           0.9

        ANNUAL            2.5           0.3         -2.1          3.6            0.9           1.1

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  See footnotes following Table 6.                                December 7, 1999
                                                                  Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

SOURCES:  Output data are from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census
Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce; the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
U.S. Department of Labor; and the Federal Reserve Board.  Compensation and
hours data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic
Analysis.

RELIABILITY:  Productivity and cost measures are regularly revised as more
complete information becomes available.  The measures are first published
within 40 days of the close of the reference period; revisions appear 30 days
later, and second revisions after an additional 60 days.  In the business
sector, the third publication (second revision) of a quarterly index of
output per hour of all persons has differed from the initial value by between
-1.9 and +2.6 index points approximately 95 percent of the time.  This
interval is based on the performance of this measure between the fourth
quarter of 1995 and the second quarter of 1999.



                            Footnotes, Tables 1-6

(1)  Wages and salaries of employees plus employers' contributions for social
     insurance and private benefit plans.  Except for nonfinancial
     corporations, where there are no self-employed, data also include an
     estimate of wages, salaries, and supplemental payments for the self-
     employed.

(2)  Compensation per hour adjusted for changes in consumer prices.  The
     change for recent quarters is based on the Consumer Price Index for all
     urban consumers (CPI-U).  The trend from 1978-1998 is based on the
     Consumer Price Index research series (CPI-U-RS).

(3)  Unit nonlabor payments include profits, capital consumption allowances,
     interest, rental income of persons, and indirect taxes.

(4)  Current dollar output divided by the output index.

(5)  Quarterly changes:  Percent change compounded at annual rate from the
     original data rather than index numbers.  Annual changes:  Percent
     change between annual average levels.

(6)  Unit nonlabor costs include capital consumption allowances, interest,
     rental income of persons, and indirect taxes.  For nonfinancial
     corporations, rental income of persons is zero by definition.

(7)  Total unit costs are the sum of unit labor and nonlabor costs.

(8)  Unit profits include corporate profits with inventory valuation and
     capital consumption adjustments.