|
|
Article: U.S. productivity rises at 3.5 percent rate, labor costs fall in fourth quarter
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- February 6, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightProvided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
00-00-0000
Dateline: WASHINGTON
Worker productivity grew briskly in the fourth quarter of last year
as businesses coping with economic hard times slashed workers' hours
by the largest amount in a decade and eliminated jobs.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that productivity _ the amount
of output per hour of work _ increased at an annual rate of 3.5 percent
in the October-December quarter, up from a 1.1 rate in the previous
quarter.
But the improvement came at a price. Businesses responded to slumping
sales by sharply cutting back on their payrolls. That caused the total
number of hours worked to drop at a faster pace than output, thus
creating a rise in productivity.
...