Productivity Up In Summer While Labor Costs Fell

Updated
summer productivity rise
summer productivity rise

By Martin Crutsinger


WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. workers increased their productivity over the summer by the most in a year and a half but the gain was smaller than initially thought.

The Labor Department says productivity rose at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the July-September quarter. That was slower than the 3.1 percent the government estimated a month ago. Labor costs fell at a 2.5 percent rate, a slightly larger decline than the 2.4 percent drop first estimated.

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