WASHINGTON—U.S. labor costs grew faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter, though the pace has slowed from the prior quarters.
Unit labor costs—the price of labor per single unit of output—accelerated at a 3.2 percent annualized rate last quarter, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was revised up from the 1.1 percent pace reported last month.
Labor costs rose at a 6.9 percent rate in the third quarter, and notched hefty gains in the prior two quarters. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast labor costs being revised up to a 1.6 percent growth pace. Unit labor costs rose at a 6.3 percent rate from a year ago, revised up from the previously reported 4.5 percent pace….