US: Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 1.9% in Q4

"Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018,," the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector increased 2.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, and increased 1.0 percent over the last four quarters.
• Annual average productivity increased 1.3 percent from 2017 to 2018. 
• Manufacturing sector labor productivity increased 2.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, as output increased 2.7 percent and hours worked rose 0.8 percent.