Productivity Rises More Than Forecast, Limiting U.S. Labor Costs

The productivity of U.S. workers rose more than projected in the second quarter, rebounding from the biggest drop in more than three decades and helping to restrain labor costs.

The measure of employee output per hour increased at a 2.5 percent annualized rate, after a revised 4.5 percent decrease in the prior three months that was the biggest since 1981, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 57 economists called for a 1.6 percent advance. Expenses per worker increased at a 0.6 percent pace, less than estimated.