Surprise! Labor Productivity Collapses By Young Research - August 9, 2016 Labor productivity fell for the first time in three years in the second quarter.ย Economists polled by Bloomberg were surprised when their prediction of 0.5% growth in labor productivity turned into a -0.5% drop in productivity. Share this: Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook