Americans are working harder and building it faster.

According to the Department of Labor, productivity among American workers jumped 5.3 percent in the second quarter. Combined with previous increases over the past year, productivity is rising at the fastest rate in 17 years.

The figure is determined by the amount of output per hour of work, and actually grew by almost four percent from the first quarter alone, where the increase was 1.9 percent.

What's the impact of these increases? Better living, according to analysts, who say that the average family is able to make ends meet on their wages without affecting the inflation rate. As a result, the Federal Reserve Bank probably will take into account the productivity rate when it considers any increase in interest rates.