WASHINGTON—U.S. worker productivity rebounded solidly in the first quarter, the government confirmed on Thursday, also noting that labor costs grew instead of contracting as previously reported.
Nonfarm productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at an unrevised 5.4 percent annualized rate last quarter, the Labor Department said. Productivity fell at a 3.8 percent rate in the fourth quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had expected productivity would be raised to a 5.5 percent rate.
