U.S. productivity fell by the largest amount in a year in the first quarter, suggesting companies may need to hire more workers to keep pace with demand, the government reported Wednesday. The Labor Department said productivity fell at a 0.9 percent annual rate in the January-March period, faster than the 0.5 percent decline first estimated last month. Analysts had expected a 0.7 percent drop. Productivity is the amount of output per hour of work. It fell at a faster rate than first estimated because revisions showed less output and slightly more hours worked. First-quarter output rose at a 2.4 percent annual rate, and hours worked climbed at a 3.3 percent rate.
