Productivity increased 5.2% last year.

The Labor Department said the rise in production efficiency in American manufacturing was the biggest in nine years. The all-purpose productivity gauge measures the amount of capital invested by business in the production process in the form of equipment, buildings and land. Economists say this suggests, at least in part, that U.S. manufacturers, many hurt by foreign imports, are trying to adjust by becoming more efficient. The 5.2% rise in multi-factor productivity was an improvement over the 3.1% increase in 1983, which followed four years of declines.