Third-Quarter Productivity Rises 1.1%

Third-quarter U.S. worker productivity rose 1.1% in the third quarter, the Labor Department said Thursday.

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

Economists had forecast a rise of 0.7% for the quarter, Bloomberg reported.

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.