MW: U.S. productivity climbs 1.6% in first quarter
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The productivity of American businesses rose 1.6% in the first quarter, but hourly wages of U.S. workers adjusted for inflation fell by largest amount in almost three years, the government reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected productivity to increase by a seasonally adjusted 1.5% in the first quarter from an upwardly revised 2.9% in the final three months of 2010. The quantity of goods and services produced, known as real output, grew at an annual rate of 3.1%. Hours worked rose 1.4%. The unit cost of labor, meanwhile, rose by a 1.0% annual rate in the first quarter. Compensation per hour rose 2.6%, but real compensation per hour, which adjusts for inflation, fell by 2.5% - the biggest decline since the third quarter of 2008.
