U.S. productivity soars in first quarter
The numbers: The productivity of American workers soared in the first quarter and pushed the increase over the past year to the highest level since 2010, a potentially great sign for the U.S. economy.
Productivity has increased 2.4% in the past 12 months, the fastest clip since 2010, a period when it increased largely because companies cut hoards of jobs and basically forced remaining workers to do more with less. What happened: Companies increased the amount of goods and services they produced, known as output, by a healthy 4.1%. And they managed it even though the hours workers spent on the job rose a mild 0.5%.
The decline in unit-labor costs adds to a slew of recent evidence that inflation has waned after a sharp burst last year and poses little threat to the economy.Big picture: The low level of productivity in the past decade has puzzled economists for years, but fresh evidence suggests some of the recent gains might be sustainable.
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