U.S. Productivity Gains Cooled Last Quarter; Labor Costs Rose

Worker productivity in the U.S. cooled in the fourth quarter following the biggest jump in two years, resuming the weak efficiency gains that have plagued the expansion.

The measure of employee output per hour increased at a 1.3 percent annualized rate, after a revised 3.5 percent rise in the prior three months, Labor Department figures showed Thursday in Washington. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey called for a 1 percent gain. Expenses per worker rose at a 1.7 percent pace.