WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- The cost of production in non-farm businesses fell due to a record drop in hourly compensation, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.
In the first quarter, unit labor costs fell 4.3 percent due to a 3.8 percent decline in hourly compensation and the 0.5 percent gain in productivity, the bureau said.
The decline in compensation is the largest quarterly drop since the department began tracking the data in 1947.
The 0.5 percent gain in productivity is a revision from an estimated 0.7 percent gain released in the bureau's previous productivity report.
Productivity is a reflection of the first quarter's 2.1 percent increase in output and a 1.6 percent increase in hours worked.
Non-farm labor productivity from the first quarter of 2012 rose 0.9 percent, based on a 2.4 percent increase in output and a 1.5 percent increase in hours worked compared to the same period a year earlier, the department said.
