US labour productivity slumped at an annual rate of 1.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The latest figures revealed another decline in productivity following a decrease of 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
The fall in non-farm business sector labour productivity in the first three months of this year came as output declined 0.2 per cent and hours worked increased 1.7 per cent.
Productivity, or output per hour, is measured by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked.
The US Department of Labor confirmed from the first quarter of 2014 up to the first quarter of 2015, productivity rose 0.6 per cent, reflecting increases in output and hours worked of 3.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively.
