The efficiency of American workers actually declined in the final three months of 2005, the first time that has happened in more than four years, while wage pressures accelerated.
Americans’ productivity, a key determinant of rising living standards, dipped at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the October-December quarter, while wages rose at a 3.3 percent pace, the fastest gain in a year, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. Both figures were slightly revised from original estimates a month ago which had productivity falling at a 0.6 percent rate and wage costs rising at a 3.5 percent rate in the fourth quarter.
