U.S. nonfarm unit productivity rose at a 3.2% annual rate in the fourth quarter, up from 1.5% growth in the prior quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday.
Unit labor cost growth increased at a 1.8% rate in the fourth quarter, off from the 2.6% third-quarter pace.
Thomson Reuters poll of economists expected a 1.1% rise in productivity and a 2.9% gain in unit labor costs.
The implicit price deflator slowed at a 0.5% pace in the quarter, down from 4.7% in the previous quarter. Real compensation soared 15.6% in the fourth quarter after a 2.4% slide in the third.
Year-over-year growth in productivity rose to a 2.7% rate from 2.2% in the previous quarter. Unit labor cost growth decelerated to a 0.7% year-year gain from a 1.4% rise in the third quarter.
