The US has pared back its initial estimate of robust productivity growth for the terror-shaken economy in the July-Sepember quarter.
US business productivity rose at a revised 1.5% annual rate in the July-September quarter - down from an initial estimate of 2.7%, the Labor Department said.
Wall Street economists had been forecasting a revised productivity increase for the non-farm sector - a measure of output for hours worked in US businesses - of 2.2% for the quarter.
But productivity was revised sharply downwards after the Labor Department found the number of hours worked was higher than first thought and production was lower. Hours worked fell at a rate of 3.4%, less than the initial estimate of 3.6% decline but still the biggest plunge since the first quarter of 1991.
Output slumped 2% - the weakest performance since the first quarter of 1991. That compared to an initial estimate of a 1% decline. Hourly compensation rose 3.8%, down from the initial estimate of a 4.5% increase.
The increase in unit labour costs was revised upwards to 2.3% from 1.8%. Overall productivity, which includes the farming sector, rose a revised 1.1% for the quarter, down from the previous estimate of a 2.2% increase.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity surged 2.5%, stronger than the the previous estimate of a 1.1% rise and the biggest gain since the fourth quarter of 2000.
