WASHINGTON - U.S. non-farm productivity edged up at a 0.7% annualized rate in the fourth quarter, after rising a revised 1.9% increase in the third quarter, according to the Labor Department, which issued the preliminary reading on the data Thursday.
The gain reflected increases of 3.6% in output and 2.9% in hours worked, the department said.
Unit labor costs, a ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity, rose 1.2% in the fourth quarter, after falling a revised 2.1% in the previous quarter.
The gain in productivity was lower than the median 0.9% increase projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters. Unit labor costs were higher than their median projection of a 0.9% gain.
The 3.6% gain in non-farm business workers' output for the fourth quarter compared to a revised gain of 2.8% in the previous quarter. The 2.9% increase in hours worked compared to a revised 0.9% gain for the third quarter.
Hourly compensation rose 1.9%, after falling a revised 0.3% in the third quarter.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity fell 0.4% in the fourth quarter, after jumping a revised 5.3% in the third quarter.
Unit labor costs in the sector were up 1.6%, after falling a revised 5.6% in the third quarter.
