US Productivity Increases at Rapid Pace, Cementing 2023 Rebound

US labor productivity advanced at a rapid pace in the fourth quarter, wrapping up a year of improving efficiency gains that helped fuel economic growth as inflation receded.

Productivity, or nonfarm employee output per hour, rose at a 3.2% annualized rate after surging a revised 4.9% in the prior period, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Thursday.

Unit labor costs — what businesses pay employees to produce one unit of output — increased at a 0.5% rate after a revised 1.1% decrease in the third quarter.

Productivity increased 2.7% in the fourth quarter compared with a ...