U.S. productivity grew at a slightly higher-than-expected 0.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, government data showed on Thursday, after the number of hours worked fell faster than output as firms cut back sharply on employment to protect profits.
Economists polled by Reuters expected non-farm productivity, which measures the hourly output per worker, to increase at an 0.6 percent pace, compared with a revised 0.6 percent drop the previous three months. This was previously reported as a 0.4 percent decline.
