Full text of U.S. Financial Data : November 12, 1999

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November 12, 1999

USFinancialData
THE WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
Labor output per hour (productivity) in the nonfarm business
sector increased at a 4.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter.
By contrast, labor productivity grew at a 1.6 percent rate during
the first two quarters of 1999. The annualized growth of unit
labor costs, accordingly, slowed from 2.9 percent during the first
half of the year to 0.6 percent in the third quarter. Measured from
four quarters earlier, productivity is up 2.9 percent, while unit
labor costs have increased 1.7 percent.
According to the advance report, retail sales measured in current
dollars fell less than 0.1 percent in October, as automotive sales
registered a 1.6 percent decline. Excluding automotive sales,
though, retail sales were up 0.5 percent.
Prices received by producers for finished goods (PPI) fell at a
1.8 percent annual rate in October, the first decline in eight months.
Although the PPI has risen at a 2.9 percent rate since the first
of the year, when the direct effects of energy prices are removed,
the PPI has only risen at a 0.8 percent rate.
Following increases that averaged 1 percent a month from July
to September, prices paid by U.S. residents for foreign-produced
goods rose 0.5 percent in October. Import prices are up
4.1 percent measured from a year earlier.
Nonfarm payroll employment rose 310,000 in October, while
the civilian unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage point
to 4.1 percent.
All data are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise indicated.
U.S. Financial Data is published weekly by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of
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