By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The productivity of American businesses fell a revised 1.8% in the second quarter, twice as much as the government initially reported. Last month, the Labor Department originally estimated that productivity fell 0.9% to mark the first decline in five quarters. Yet worker output grew at a slower pace based on newly revised data. Real output grew just 1.6% in the second quarter, compared to the prior estimate of 2.6%. Hours worked rose at a 3.5% annualized rate - the fastest in four years.
