Productivity in U.S. Rises as Self-Employed Work Fewer Hours

Worker productivity unexpectedly grew in the third quarter, reflecting a slump in the number of hours worked by self-employed Americans.

The measure of employee output per hour increased at a 1.6 percent annualized rate, exceeding all estimates of 57 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The total number of hours worked from July through September dropped by the most in six years, dragged down by an annualized 18 percent plunge among those working for themselves.  Read more