Productivity Growth Slips in 2nd Quarter

Growth in the productivity of U.S. workers slipped sharply in the second quarter, the government reported, but managed to maintain positive momentum in the face of a sluggish economic recovery.

The Labor Department said worker output per hour in nonfarm businesses advanced at a 1.1% annual rate in the second quarter, down from the upwardly revised 8.6% pace in the previous quarter and the weakest showing since the second quarter of 2001.

The fall in productivity growth reflected a much slower pace of economic output, as the number of worker hours fell for a fifth straight quarter. Output rose at a 0.5% clip in the quarter, down from a 6.2% increase in the first quarter, while hours worked fell at a 0.7% rate.