The cost of labor unexpectedly declined in the third quarter, providing at least some relief on the inflation front, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Unit labor costs, a measure of hourly compensation against productivity, fell 0.8% for the July-through-September period at a seasonally adjusted rate.
On a 12-month basis, unit labor costs increased 1.9%.
The developments come as the Federal Reserve is seeking to tamp down inflation through a series of interest rate increases.
Continuing claims, which run a week behind, totaled 1.82 million, an increase of 35,000 and higher than the 1.81 million FactSet estimate.
Persons:
Dow Jones, Jerome Powell
Organizations:
Labor Department, Federal Reserve
Locations:
Manhattan , NY