U.S. productivity falls 0.2 pct in Q3

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- The productivity of American workers in the third quarter fell a bit less than previously reported, but it still marked the first contraction of productivity in almost four years.

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity, a measure of economic output for each hour worked, fell 0.2 percent in the third quarter rather than the preliminary estimate of a decline of 0.3 percent, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. That was the first contraction of labor productivity since the fourth quarter of 2015.

In the manufacturing sector, productivity increased 0.1 percent in the third quarter instead of falling 0.1 percent as previously reported, according to the department.

Meanwhile, unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector were revised down to climb 2.5 percent in the third quarter from 3.6 percent initially reported, suggesting businesses are facing manageable cost pressures.

The revised figures came after U.S. Commerce Department reported last month that the U.S. economy in the third quarter expanded at an annual rate of 2.1 percent, up from its previous estimate of 1.9 percent.

However, Robert Kaplan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said in a recent interview with local media that, he expects U.S. economic growth to be weak in the fourth quarter of the year as businesses cut inventories due to trade uncertainty.

According to the forecast released last week by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, U.S. economic growth is expected to slow to an annual rate of 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter.