ECONOMY

Biggest Productivity Gain in Two Decades: American workers posted their biggest productivity gain in two decades in 1992, which ended with the largest quarterly advance in nearly seven years, the government said. The Labor Department said productivity--defined as output per number of hours worked--rose 2.8% last year, the best improvement since a 3.1% advance in 1972. The growth was even stronger than last month’s 2.7% estimate for the year. The year ended with a 4.8% surge at a seasonally adjusted annual rate from October through December, the largest quarterly increase since a 6.9% jump in the first three months of 1986. The fourth-quarter advance was originally said to have been 4.0%.