WASHINGTON—U.S. worker productivity, an important driver of wage and output growth, is showing glimmers of recovery after years of subdued increases that held back the economy.

Output per hour of nonfarm business sector workers grew at a 1.9% annual rate in the fourth quarter and registered the strongest nine-month stretch of growth between April and December since 2010, averaging 2.2% growth during that period last year. It beat the 1.3% average growth registered so far in the expansion and was near a 2.1% post World War...