Labor productivity in the U.S. fell by more than anticipated in the first quarter of 2014, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday. The Labor Department said productivity fell by 1.7 percent in the first quarter following a revised 2.3 percent increase in the fourth quarter. Economists had been expecting productivity to drop by about 1.2 percent compared to the 1.8 percent growth that had been reported for the previous quarter. The bigger than expected drop in productivity, a measure of output per hour, came as an uptick in output was more than offset by a continued increase in hours worked. The report showed that output edged up by just 0.3 percent in the first quarter after jumping by 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter. Hours worked increased by a more robust 2.0 percent in the first quarter following the 1.4 percent increase seen in the previous quarter. Peter Boockvar, managing director at the Lindsey Group, said, "Weather of course impacted the output of economic activity in Q1, but employee hours couldn't have been adjusted, thus bringing weak productivity." "This will reverse higher in Q2 as output resumes to more normalized levels," he added. "With job gains above 200,000 hopefully becoming more sustainable and the possibility of higher wage gains, it becomes imperative now that productivity starts to increase to absorb the potentially higher labor costs."