The cost of labor unexpectedly declined in the third quarter, providing at least some relief on the inflation front, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Unit labor costs, a measure of hourly compensation against productivity, fell 0.8 percent for the July-through-September period at a seasonally adjusted rate. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a gain of 0.7 percent. On a 12-month basis, unit labor costs increased 1.9 percent.
The breakdown reflected a 3.9 percent increase in hourly compensation, offset by a 4.7 percent rise in productivity.
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