WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- With major cost-cutting efforts now in the past, the productivity of U.S. nonfarm businesses slowed in the first quarter from 6.3% to a still-healthy 3.6% annual rate, the Labor Department estimated Thursday.
Even with the slowdown in the first quarter, productivity has risen 6.3% over the past four quarters, the fastest growth in 48 years and nearly three times its average growth rate. In the first quarter, output increased 4.4% on an annualized basis, while hours worked rose 0.8%, the government estimated.
