US workers were less productive in the spring

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. workers were less productive in the spring for the second quarter in a row, a trend that may not bode well for future hiring.

Productivity dropped 0.3 percent in the April-June quarter, after a decline of 0.6 percent in the first three months of the year, the Labor Department said today. It was the first back-to-back decline in productivity since the second half of 2008.

The drop in productivity helped push unit labor costs up 2.2 percent. That follows a 4.8 percent rise in labor costs in the first three months of this year, the biggest increase since the last three months of 2008.

Rising labor costs reduce corporate profits. Labor represents the largest expense for most companies. And when workers are less productive and cost more, companies are less likely to add jobs.