P.M. BRIEFING : Worker Productivity Up 2.1%

American workers made significant productivity gains in the third quarter, the government said today in a report that nonetheless underscored the economy’s slower growth and manufacturing’s slump.

Overall productivity in the non-farm sector of the economy rose at an annual rate of 2.1% in the third quarter, nearly double the revised second-quarter gain of 1.1%, the Labor Department said.

The improvement came as output rose at an annual, seasonally adjusted rate of 3.1% while hours worked climbed just 1%.

That third-quarter increase in hours was the lowest in more than three years, further evidence that the growth rate of the economy has slowed.