U.S. business productivity rose in the 3rd quarter.

The Labor Department said the 1.2% annual rate of increase in the productivity of non-farm businesses during the third quarter matched the gain for April through June and was a significant improvement over the 3.1% decline in the first quarter. The increase came from a 3.2% advance in output while the hours worked by employees was rising by 2%. In another report, the Labor Department said that major collective bargaining agreements reached during the first nine months of this year provided for annual wage adjustments of 2.3% in the first year of the contract, the smallest increase since the department began surveying such bargaining agreements in 1962.