(Inserts dropped word in third paragraph to clarify figure is for productivity growth)
WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters)- U.S. non-farm productivity was slightly stronger than initially forecast in the third quarter, but the pace of growth remained the slowest this year as output saw its biggest decline in seven years, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.
Productivity rose at a revised annual rate of 1.3 percent, stronger than the 0.9 percent rate that economists polled by Reuters had forecast.
The Labor Department initially estimated third-quarter productivity growth at 1.1 percent. Non-farm productivity expanded 3.6 percent in the second quarter. Output fell a revised 1.9 percent in the third quarter, the biggest decline since the third quarter of 2001 when it plunged 2.9 percent.
Unit labor costs, a gauge of inflation and profit pressures closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose a revised 2.8 percent in the third quarter after declining a revised 2.6 percent percent in the second quarter. The Labor Department previously estimated third-quarter unit labor costs at 3.6 percent. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Tom Hals)