September 07, 2007	Friday	Sha'aban 24, 1428

WASHINGTON, Sept 6: The productivity of US workers quickened during the second quarter as Americans toiled more briskly on production lines than in the first three months of the year, the Labour Department said on Thursday.

In a revised estimate, the government said overall productivity ticked up 2.6 per cent during the second quarter compared with a prior estimate of just 1.8 per cent.

That represented a much faster work rate across the country than the 0.7 per cent pace recorded between January and March of this year.

The surge in productivity also surprised most economists who had only anticipated a productivity spurt of 2.4 per cent. —AFP