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U.S. productivity remains in a growth mode

Labor costs takes a dip but hourly compensation remains at same 1.8-percent rate as last month.

September 2, 2015

The U.S. labor force was its most productive of the past 18 months in Q2 of 2015, according to statistics from the Labor Department.

Productivity is now increasing at a 3.3 percent rate annually, the fastest since Q4 of 2013 and a healthy jump over 1.3 percent cited by the department last month, states a Reutersreport.

The unit cost of labor dipped at a 1.4-percent rate in Q2 and unit labor costs increased 1.7 percent compared to a year ago. Hourly compensation jumped at a rate of 1.8 percent, which is the same as last month's but up 2.5 percent compared to Q2 of 2014.