US labour productivity continues to fall

U.S. labor productivity continued to fall in the first quarter of this year, reaffirming a weak economy at the start of this year. The Labor Department said Wednesday nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased at a 1.9 percent annual rate during January-March, following a decline of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014. On a year-on-year basis, the productivity increased 0.6 percent.

The decrease in productivity reflected a decline of 0.2 percent in output while an increase of 1.7 percent in hours worked in that period, the department said in a report.

The latest data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 0. 2 percent in the first quarter this year, due to a bout of blizzards and a strong dollar's drag on exports.