By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. productivity fell by an annual rate of 0.7% in the second quarter instead of a 0.3% drop as initially reported, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast that the revision would show a 0.6% decline on a seasonally adjusted basis. Worsening productivity stemmed mainly from higher costs for labor. Unit-labor costs jumped by an annual rate of 3.3% last quarter, up from an initial estimate of 2.2%. Also, output of goods and services rose just 1.3%, not 1.8% as first stated. The increase in hours worked remained the same at 2.0%. The hourly wages of workers, adjusted for inflation, fell 1.4% instead of 2.1%.
