According to new figures from the Labor Department, employee productivity rose by 2.2% in the second quarter. The increase comes after productivity fell by 0.5% in the previous quarter. A report from the Commerce Department found that wages and salaries increased, and hours worked increased by 0.1%. Analysts say that companies may be reaching the limits of their current workforce's' productivity, but sluggish spending and investment makes them less likely to higher new workers.
See "Productivity in U.S. Grows More Than Previously Estimated", Alex Kowalski, Bloomberg News, September 4, 2012