WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Productivity in the fourth quarter rose at a stronger-than-expected pace as the biggest cutback in working hours in nearly five years helped restrain growth in labor costs, a U.S. Labor Department report showed on Wednesday.
The Labor Department also revised third-quarter productivity downward to an annual rate of 6 percent from its previously reported rise of 6.3 percent -- still the strongest gain in four years.
Unit labor costs, a gauge of inflation and profit pressures under close scrutiny by the Fed, rose 2.1 percent, the largest gain since the first quarter of 2007, when they rose 5.2 percent. The drop in third-quarter unit labor costs also was revised to a 1.9 percent drop from a 2 percent decline.
