Worker productivity rises in first quarter

WASHINGTON (AP) - Worker productivity rose in the first three months of the year while labor cost pressures eased.

The Department of Labor reported yesterday that productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter. That was slightly higher than the 1.5 percent increase which had been expected.

In a sign that inflation could be easing, labor cost pressures slowed a bit. Unit labor costs rose at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, down from a 2.8 percent rise in the final three months of last year.

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