The preliminary data from the U.S. Labour Department showed on Thursday that nonfarm business sector labor productivity in the United States decreased 2.5 percent q-o-q in the first quarter of 2020, as output declined 6.2 percent q-o-q and hours worked fell 3.8 percent q-o-q (seasonally adjusted).

That was below economists' forecast for a 5.5 percent q-o-q drop after an unrevised 1.2 percent q-o-q advance in the fourth quarter of 2019.

In y-o-y terms, the labor productivity rose 0.3 percent in the first quarter, reflecting a 0.1-percent uptick in output and a 0.2-percent fall in hours worked.

Meanwhile, unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector in the first quarter jumped 4.8 percent q-o-q compared to an unrevised 0.9 percent q-o-q increase in the prior quarter.

Economists had forecast a 4.0 percent surge in first-quarter unit labor costs.

Unit labor costs quarterly increase reflected a 2.2-percent climb in hourly compensation and a 2.5-percent decrease in labor productivity.

Compared to the corresponding period of 2019, unit labor costs rose 1.5 percent.