U.S. First-Quarter Productivity Rises 3.6%, Fastest Since 2014

Productivity gains in the U.S. accelerated by more than expected last quarter to the fastest pace since 2014, adding fuel to the Trump administration’s argument that its tax cuts are boosting the economy without stoking inflation.

Nonfarm business employee output per hour increased at a 3.6 percent annualized rate in the January-March period, according to Labor Department figures Thursday. That topped all forecasts in Bloomberg’s survey of economists and followed a downwardly revised 1.3 percent gain in the fourth quarter. Unit labor costs fell at a 0.9 percent rate following a 2.5 percent increase.