US: Unit Labor Costs decline by 8.9% in Q3 vs. -11.5% expected

• Unit Labor Costs fell at a softer pace than expected in Q3.
• US Dollar Index struggles to stage a rebound after the data.

Unit Labor Costs in the US' nonfarm business sector declined by 8.9% on a yearly basis in the third quarter, the data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Thursday. This reading followed an 8.5% (revised from 9%) increase in the previous quarter and came in better than the market expectation for a fall of 11.5%.

Further details of the publication revealed that Labor Productivity in the nonfarm business sector increased by 4.9% in the same period and fell short of analysts' estimate of 5.6%. 

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index largely ignored this data and was last seen losing 0.88% on the day at 92.66.