The productivity of American workers has decreased tremendously in the most recent quarter, with growth in output failing to match hours worked. Nonfarm labor productivity has decreased by 0.3%, the largest decrease in nearly four years. The decrease in productivity was unexpected, and some economists anticipate that the decline will negatively impact an anticipated productivity increase. Economists initially anticipated productivity to increase in the third quarter by 0.9%.
See "US productivity drops by most since the fourth quarter of 2015", CNBC, November 6, 2019