U.S. workers increased their productivity over the summer by the most in a year and a half, but the gain was smaller than initially thought, a government report said on Wednesday. The Labor Department said productivity rose to an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the July through September quarter. That was slower than the 3.1 percent the government estimated a month ago. Labor costs fell at a 2.5 percent rate, a slightly larger decline than the 2.4 percent drop first estimated. The downward revision to productivity reflected slower growth in the third quarter. The government said total output grew at an annual rate of 2 percent, slower than the 2.5 percent initially estimated.
