the numbers us nonfarm worker productivity fell at a 46 annual clip in the second quarter the government said tuesday this is the second straight decline quarterly decline in productivity which measures output per hour in the first quarter productivity fell at a steep 74 rate the largest decline in 75 years over the past 12 months us productivity fell at a record 25 rate key details workers worked more and produced less in the second quarter hours worked ran a 26 rate in the second quarter down from a 53 rate in first quarter output in the second quarter fell at a 21 rate after a 25 decline in the first three months of the year unitlabor costs a key measure of wages jumped at 106 rate down only slightly from a revised 128 rate in the first quarter yearoveryear unit labor costs rose 95 in the second quarter up from a robust 82 gain in the first quarter big picture productivity is hard to measure in normal times so economists are wary of the data in the postpandemic era still economists are troubled because productivity low productivity leads to a host of bad outcomes – higher inflation lower worker wage growth and a slower economy said nela richardson chief economist at adp market reaction stocks djia spx were set to open lower on tuesday after oil futures turned higher on news reports that russia was halting crude flows on one pipeline to europe