U.S. nonfarm labor productivity rose 3.0% in the third quarter, in line with the Labor Department's preliminary estimate, while output and hours worked were both revised up by 0.3 percentage point.
The increase in output was revised up to 4.1% from 3.8%, making it the largest increase since the third quarter of 2014. Hours worked climbed 1.1% in the quarter, compared with the previous estimate of 0.8%.
Productivity in the manufacturing sector was revised to a decrease of 4.4% from the previous estimate of a 5.0% decline due to greater upward revision to output than that of hours worked. The 3.6% increase in business sector productivity was not revised.
The department said unit labor costs decreased 0.2% in the third quarter from the previous quarter, a downward revision from the preliminary estimate of a 0.5% increase.
On a year-over-year basis, nonfarm labor productivity increased 1.5%. Unit labor costs decreased 0.7% from a year earlier, compared with the preliminary estimate that showed a decrease of 0.1%.
