Productivity fell again in the second quarter and posted its first annual decline in three years, renewing questions about the health of the economy.

Productivity, or output per labor hour, fell 0.5% at an annual rate in the April-June period, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the third consecutive quarterly drop and well below the 0.4% rise economists expected. Productivity was down 0.4% over the previous 12 months, the first annual decrease since the second quarter of 2013.

The reason for the poor performance: Output increased 1.2% annualized while the number of hours worked rose 1.8%. Unit labor costs — the average cost of labor her unit of output — increased 2%.

Read More: http://www.usatoday.com

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