Third-quarter U.S. worker productivity rose 1.3% in the third quarter, the Labor Department said Wednesday, more than a previous estimate.
Productivity is a measure of how much an employee produces for every hour of work.
Economists had forecast a rise of 0.9% for the quarter, Bloomberg reported.
Labor costs rose at a rate of 2.8%, less than the 3.6% increase forecast by economists.
When worker efficiency improves at a slower pace and labor becomes more expensive, companies may raise prices in order to guard their profits, contributing to more rapid inflation.