US productivity up 1.7% in 2019, best gain in 9 years
U.S. productivity rebounded in the final three months of last year, helping to boost productivity growth for the year to the best showing in nearly a decade.
The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday that productivity grew at an annual rate of 1.4% in the October-December quarter, reversing the direction of a 0.2% drop during the third quarter.
For the year, productivity increased 1.7%, up from 1.3% advances in both 2017 and 2018. While a 1.7% rise in productivity is considered modest, it was the best annual showing since a 3.4% advance in 2010.
Labor costs rose 1.4% in the fourth quarter, a slowdown from a 2.5% jump in the third quarter. For the year, labor costs rose 2%, up from a 1.8% gain in 2018.
Productivity, a key factor needed to boost living standards, has been lagging for most of this record-long expansion, now in its 11th year. But economists believe there are some signs at least that productivity may finally be starting to improve.
Wage packets have not seem to shown much in the way of gains either.