U.S. Productivity Climbs 3.6%

American business productivity rose 3.6% in 1984, the biggest gain since 1971, the Labor Department reported today. It said the increase was due to the strongest advances in output and hours worked since the 1950s and a substantial advance in agricultural productivity.

Productivity in the manufacturing sector was up 4.7% last year, the biggest one-year gain since 1973. Excluding agriculture, business productivity rose 3.1% last year. From 1973 to 1983, the average annual growth rate in non-farm productivity had been 0.8%.