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U.S. workers’ productivity increased in the third quarter and labor costs declined, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The 3.1% increase in productivity followed a revised 0.1% dip the previous three months that was previously reported as a 0.7% decline.

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

Economists had forecast a 3% increase, Bloomberg reported.

Labor costs fell 2.4% after a revised 2.8% gain in the previous quarter that was originally reported as a 3.3% 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.