By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. workers and businesses improved their productivity in the first quarter after a sharp drop in the waning months of 2012, the government reported Thursday. Productivity rose 0.7% from January through March, the Labor Department said in its preliminary assessment. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast productivity to climb 0.9%, following a revised 1.7% decline in the fourth quarter. Output of goods and services rose 2.5% in the first three months of 2013, while hours worked climbed a slower 1.8%, accounting for the increase in productivity. Unit-labor costs grew a mild 0.5%, down sharply from a 4.4% spike in the fourth quarter. Hourly wages of American workers rose 1.2%, but after adjusting for inflation, they actually fell 0.3% in the first quarter. In the manufacturing sector, productivity jumped 3.8% following a 2.2% increase in the fourth quarter.
