US worker productivity grows

New York: US worker productivity grew at a 2.6% annual rate from October through December, less than the government estimated last month and a fraction of the pace of the previous three months, as employees worked more hours and businesses boosted hiring to keep up with demand.

Productivity, a measure of how much an employee produces for every hour of work, slowed from a 9.5% annual rate in the third quarter.For all of last year, productivity rose 4.4% following a 5% gain in 2002.

The increases in the last two years are the first to exceed 4% back-to-back since record-keeping began in 1947.