U.S. Labor Productivity Crashes 5%, Worst Decline in 40 Years
- Worker productivity slumped by much more than expected in the third quarter, data from the Department of Labor showed Thursday.
- Hours worked increased by at a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of seven percent in the July through September period, while output increased just 1.7 percent.
- This is the worst productivity decline since the second quarter of 1981, when the measure decreased 5.1 percent. Economists had expected a milder decline of around 1.5 percent.