Indicator 34: Productivity

Productivity, defined as the gross domestic product per employed person, is a measure of the average productive capacity of a country's employees. Countries with higher levels of productivity have a larger economic capacity from which to invest in socioeconomic infrastructure, improve education, and raise their citizens' standard of living.

• In 1961, the United States had the highest productivity level of all countries presented (including the G-7 countries), in large part due to the impact of World War II. Productivity levels of the G-7 countries ranged from 26 percent (Japan) to just under 75 percent (Canada) of that of the United States.

• In 1991, U.S. productivity was still above that of the other countries reported, but productivity levels had converged considerably. For instance, the productivity levels of the G-7 countries ranged from 75 percent (United Kingdom) to 98 percent (France) of that of the United States.

• Between 1961 and 1991, the United States experienced the lowest average annual increase in productivity of all the countries presented (1.05 percent). Japan achieved the highest productivity gains of the remaining countries, with an average annual increase of 4.8 percent.

Table 34: Productivity /1 as a percentage of U.S. productivity (based on 1990 purchasing power parities,/2 U.S.=100) and average annual percentage increase in productivity, by country: 1961-91

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			Productivity as a percentage of U.S. 		Average
									annual percent
					Year				increase in
                                                                        productivity /4
                     ---------------------------------------------  ---------------------
Country                 1961    1971    1981    1991 /3                 1961-91
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-7
Canada			72.4	77.1	84.2	87.3			1.68
France			52.6	69.3	86.2	98.0			3.17
West Germany (former)	55.2	68.3	82.7	90.1			2.71
Italy			46.3	65.9	85.5	94.2			3.47
Japan			26.4	47.3	64.4	79.0			4.80
United Kingdom		55.8	60.6	69.0	74.8			2.04
United States          100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0                    1.05
Other
Austria			44.6	60.9	75.3	85.6			3.27
Belgium			55.3	68.2	87.4	98.0			2.99
Denmark			56.1	61.3	67.8	74.3			2.00
Korea			-	17.3	25.4	43.9			-
Netherlands		59.2	73.2	82.2	82.5			2.17
Norway			45.9	52.2	64.8	74.7			2.70
Sweden			54.2	62.4	66.6	69.6			1.89
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-Not available.
1/ Productivity is defined as the gross domestic product per employed person.
2/ All currencies converted to U.S. dollars at 1990 price levels using the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) index. Consult the glossary for an explanation of the PPP index.
3/ Preliminary estimates.
4/ See supplemental note to Indicator 34 for the formula used to derive the average annual percentage increase in productivity between 1961 and 1991.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Productivity and Technology, Comparative Real Gross Domestic Product Per Capita and Per Employed Person: Fourteen Countries 1960-91, unpublished tables, February 1993, pp. 31-32, 37-38.

Figure 34: Productivity as a percentage of U.S. productivity,* by country: 1961-91

*Based on 1990 purchasing power parities (U.S. = 100).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Productivity and Technology, Comparative Real Gross Domestic Product Per Capita and Per Employed Person, Fourteen Countries, February 1993, p. 31.

Technical Note

The following formula was used to calculate the average annual percentage increase in productivity:

[Indicator 33]

[Indicator 35]