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First-quarter U.S. worker productivity rose 2.6% from the previous quarter, up from an earlier estimate, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The upturn followed a 2.2% increase reported by Labor last month.

Productivity is a measure of how much an employee produces for every hour of work.

The level followed the fourth-quarter’s 1.8% productivity gain. Economists had forecast a first-quarter increase of 2.5%, Bloomberg said.

When worker efficiency improves at a slower pace and labor becomes more expensive, companies may raise prices in order to guard their profits, contributing to more rapid inflation.