The numbers: An already soft report gets even weaker: The productivity of American businesses rose a revised 0.4% annual pace in the first quarter instead of 0.7% as originally reported.

What happened: Output — or goods and services produced — climbed 2.7% instead of 2.8%, the government said Wednesday.

Hours worked were revised to show a 2.3% gain vs. a preliminary 2.1%.

Productivity is determined by the difference between output (2.7%) and hours worked (2.3%).

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Unit-labor costs, or how much it costs to make each product, rose by 2.9%, a bit higher than the preliminary 2.7% estimate.

Over the past four quarters, however, unit-labor costs have only risen at a 1.3% pace.

Big picture: Productivity has been low for years to the detriment of the U.S. economy. When workers increase how much they produce per hour, companies make bigger profits and give larger pay raises. It’s the key to a higher standard of living.

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The Trump tax cuts and regulatory rollback are aimed at spurring businesses to boost spending and investment, ideally leading to higher productivity.

It’s too early to tell if the plan is working. Companies have raised investment in the past year, but it remains to be seen how long that lasts.

One bright spot for business is the still-slow rise in labor costs despite gradually increasing wages and higher prices for raw materials. The mild rate of increase in labor costs gives the Federal Reserve more cushion to lift U.S. interest rates at a leisurely pace.

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What they are saying? “The recent trend in unit-labor costs is consistent with expectations for stable, low inflation,” said Ken Matheny of Macroeconomic Advisers