Labor productivity is one of the key determinants of material prosperity in any society. On this Labor Day, Americans can take some satisfaction in the fact that they have the most productive workforce in the world, according to the U.N. International Labour Organisation.
According to the U.N. report, “Key Indicators of the Labor Market,” the United States recorded the world’s highest labour productivity levels in 2006, measured as value added per person employed per year, at $63,885. The U.S. was followed, “at a considerable distance,” the report notes, by Ireland $55,986 and Luxembourg at $55,641. How about that — Ireland and Luxembourg as No. 2 and 3. Somebody take a look at what those two countries are doing right!
The productivity gap between the U.S. and most other advanced industrial countries continued to widen in 2006, the report stated. Spunky little Ireland, the world success story for rapid productivity growth, was an exception. Productivity growth was stellar in fast-developing East Asian economies as well.
Americans owe some of their high productivity to a willingness to work longer hours than most other nationalities in the developed world. However, judged on value added per hour of work, Norway led the way ($37.99). The United States ($35.63) came in second, followed by France ($35.08). Moral of the story: It pays to work hard. But it also pays to work smart.
