Last week's Labor Department productivity report had good news: Nonfarm business increased 4.0% from last quarter and output increased 4.1% from the second quarter to the third. Smarter use of business technology and cost-cutting are fueling the improvement, says Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates, who notes that "we're still seeing applications of new technologies." There's a productivity surge from cost-cutting efforts, he says. "If productivity is strong, that means more job cuts."