Productivity sees slight increase

U.S. productivity in the first quarter grew 1 percent, the Labor Department said. It was a smaller increase than the originally estimated growth rate of 1.7 percent. Labor and production costs, key factors in determining productivity, edged higher during the quarter. Some sectors of the manufacturing industry saw real hourly wages rise by as much as 4.5 percent in the quarter, although manufacturing productivity gains were some of the highest, 1.4 to 2.8 percent higher than the previous quarter.