U.S. worker productivity fell in the fourth quarter of 2017, the first drop since early 2016, reports CNBC. The Labor Department said Thursday that the hourly output per worker fell at a 0.1% annualized rate in Q4, missing the estimated 1.0% gain that economists at Reuters had forecast.

Why it matters: The drop, which economists blamed on a shortage of workers, signals that the Trump administration's goal of growing the economy at a sustained 3% rate might be harder than previously thought.

By the numbers: