By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. productivity rose 1.9% in the third quarter as the output of goods and services rose faster than the amount of time employees worked. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected productivity to climb by 2%. The Labor Department said output rose 3.2% in the July-to-September period, while hours worked increased at a slower 1.3% rate. Both output and hours worked were up sharply from the second quarter, though all the gains took place outside the manufacturing sector. Unit-labor costs fell by 0.1% after rising 1.7% in the second quarter. Hourly wages rose 1.8%, but after adjusting for inflation, they actually fell 0.4%, the biggest decline in three quarters. In the manufacturing sector, productivity dropped 0.4% following a 0.2% increase in the second quarter. Output and hours both fell, as did inflation-adjusted wages. In the second quarter, meanwhile, U.S. productivity was revised down to 1.9% from a prior estimate of 2.2%.
