Productivity in non-farm businesses rose 2.2 percent in the first quarter, largely because of a 1.8 percent decline in hours worked.</p><p>The <strong>U.S. Department of Labor </strong>said Wednesday that output in the non-farm business sector rose 0.4 percent in the January-March quarter, based on preliminary, seasonally adjusted data.</p><p>In the overall business sector, which includes agricultural production, output edged up 0.2 percent while work hours fell 1.6 percent, the department said.</p><p>The department measures productivity by output per hour of all workers.</p><p>The report indicates that employers are controlling costs by controlling payrolls and getting more production out of their workforces per hour worked.</p><p>In a separate measure of manufacturing productivity, the department said first-quarter productivity grew 4.1 percent while experiencing a 4.2 percent decline in hours worked and an output decline of 0.3 percent.</p><p>Manufacturing productivity was markedly different in the durable good and non-durable goods sectors. Durable goods manufacturing saw an estimated 2.3 percent productivity bump while productivity in non-durable goods manufacturing jumped 7 percent.