WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. productivity in the October-December quarter fell by the largest amount in 39 years as the coronavirus pandemic roiled the labor market.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that productivity dropped at a 4.8% rate in the fourth quarter after having risen strongly in the two previous quarters.
The decline was the biggest quarterly setback since a 5.1% rate of decline in the second quarter of 1981.
Labor costs rose at an annual rate of 6.8% in the fourth quarter after having fallen at a 7% rate in the third quarter.
