U.S. worker productivity rose more than expected in the second quarter amid an increase in hours, but the trend remained weak, suggesting that robust economic growth could remain elusive.
Figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Labor Department showed non-farm productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at a 0.9% annualized rate in the April-June period. First-quarter productivity was revised to show it edging up at a 0.1% pace instead of being unchanged as previously reported.
Compared to the second quarter of 2016, productivity increased at a 1.2% rate. Economists had forecast productivity increasing at a 0.7% pace in the second quarter.
Washington also revised data going back to 2014, in line with recent revisions to gross domestic product figures.
Those revisions showed productivity falling 0.1% in 2016, the first drop since 1982. That suggests the economy's potential rate of growth has declined.
Anemic productivity is bad news for President Donald Trump who has pledged to boost annual economic growth to 3% through tax cuts, infrastructure spending and a rollback of regulation.
