The efficiency of US workers jumped in the fourth quarter but not enough to lift full year performance to match the roaring productivity gains of the first six years of this century, the Labor Department said today.
US workers increased their productivity by 3 per cent in the fourth quarter, the fastest quarterly pace since the first three months of 2006 and nearly double the 1.7 per cent gain economists had expected.
Unit labor costs rose by 1.7 per cent in the fourth quarter, sharply down from the 3.2 per cent gain of the previous quarter and slower than the 2.4 per cent gain economists had expected.
Unit labor costs have risen 2.8 per cent since the fourth quarter of 2005. In 2006, unit labor costs rose an average of 3.2 per cent, nearly three times as fast as the average annual gain of 1.2 per cent in the years between 2000 and 2006.
Productivity has risen 2.1 per cent since the fourth quarter of 2005. In 2006, productivity has also risen an average of 2.1 per cent, slower than the average annual gain of 2.9 per cent in the years between 2000 and 2006.