US worker productivity increased 2.7% in Q4 2003

Non-farm business productivity, or worker output per hour, increased at a 2.7% annual rate in Q4 2003 after an upwardly revised 9.5% pace in the previous quarter, the Labor Department said. The advance was the slowest since a 1.5% gain in the final quarter of 2002 and was lower than the 3.0% clip expected by analysts.