News release: “U.S. productivity weathered the recession well, growing 2.5 percent (in per hour terms) in 2009, The Conference Board reported..This blip in the prevailing downward trend in U.S. productivity was largely explained by dramatically reduced working hours that offset output decline (employment fell by 3.6 percent in 2009; hours worked per worker by 1.5 percent.) U.S. productivity growth is projected at 3 percent for 2010. European productivity growth turned negative in 2009, falling far behind the United States. Output per hour fell 1 percent in the Euro Area.”