U.S. productivity surged last quarter by the most in more than a year, reflecting a sharp acceleration in economic output, while labor costs growth cooled.
Fourth-quarter nonfarm business employee output per hour increased at a 6.6% annual rate from the previous three months, the largest advance since the second quarter of 2020, according to Labor Department figures Thursday. In the third quarter, productivity slumped 5%, the sharpest drop since 1981.
