US labour productivity growth beats forecasts in the first quarter

Labour productivity in the US rebounded more sharply than expected at the start of 2020.

According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, non-farm labour productivity grew at a quarter-on-quarter annualised pace of 5.4% (consensus: 3.7%).

Unit labour costs meanwhile dipped by 0.3%, less than the 0.8% drop that economists had penciled-in, although that shortfall was offset by an upwards revision to the prior quarter's estimate from 6.0% to 5.6%.