2Q Productivity Revised Upward

U.S. workers’ second-quarter productivity rose at a faster pace than originally reported, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The 2.2% increase followed a previously reported 1.6% gain, Labor said. Productivity declined 0.5% in the first quarter.

Economists had forecast a 1.8% second-quarter increase , Bloomberg reported.

Productivity is a measure of how much an employee produces for every hour of work.

Expenses per worker rose at a 1.5% rate, less than the 1.7% previously estimated.

When worker efficiency improves at a slower pace and labor becomes more expensive, companies may raise prices in order to guard their profits, contributing to more rapid inflation.