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U.S. workers’ productivity rose 0.9% in the second quarter, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The measure of employee output per hour had declined 1.7% in the first quarter.

Economists had predicted a 0.6% increase in the second quarter, Bloomberg News reported.

Labor costs increased 1.4% from the first quarter. The first-quarter productivity reading was revised from an initially reported 0.5% rise.

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.