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| International Comparison of Labor Productivity (2006) |
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Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development (President, Mr. Tsuneaki Taniguchi) published 2006 International Comparison of Labor Productivity. The report compares the OECD and non-OECD countries based on the statistics of the OECD and the World Bank, respectively. The report also contains the labor productivity comparison of manufacturing sector.
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| 1. |
Japan’s labor productivity in 2004 was US$59,651 (Yen 7,980,000). It was 19th among 30 OECD countries.
Japan’s labor productivity in 2004 (value added per worker) was US$59,651 (Yen 7,980,000 divided by purchasing power parity). It was 19th among 30 OECD countries and the lowest among the 7 major industrialized countries. Japan’s labor productivity increased $2,932 (5.2%) from 2003 (US$ 56,719) but the rank remained unchanged. The country with highest labor productivity was Luxemburg (US$90,683 or Yen 12,130,000) followed by the U.S. (US$83,129 or Yen 11,120,000). |
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| 2. |
The labor productivity of Japan’s manufacturing sector in 2004 was US$78,680 (Yen 8,870,000). It was the 3rd among 24 countries.
The labor productivity of Japan’s manufacturing sector in 2004 was US$78,680 (Yen 8,870,000,) the 3rd among 24 OECD countries from which such data was available. As compared to 2003, (4th with US$73,187) it increased by US$5,493 and the rank also went up a notch. (The labor productivity in manufacturing sector is calculated by using weighted moving average exchange rate.) |
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Productivity growth rate different in manufacturing and service industries.
Japan’s labor productivity index in 2004 is 1.154 in manufacturing and 1.007 in service industry based on 2000 figure as 1. Based on the trend of productivity, manufacturing and service industry are experiencing different growth pattern on the face of current economic expansion. |
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Japan’s actual growth rate of labor productivity from 2000 to 2004 was 1.65% (annual average) and 2nd among 7 major industrialized countries.
Japan’s actual annual growth rate of labor productivity since 2000 (2000 to 2004) was 1.65% on average. It was 2nd among the 7 major industrialized countries and 15th among 30 OECD countries. Compared to late 90s (1995-1999,) when the same figure was 0.46%, the figure showed dramatic improvement. However, the U.S., which was ranked first in the ranking, recorded annual average growth of 2.39% since 2000 and the productivity gap between Japan and the U.S. was widening. |
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| 5. |
The labor productivity of China was US$10,168 (2004.) It was the 70th among 78 countries of the world and about 17% of Japan’s.
The labor productivity of China was US$10,168. (2004. Calculated with purchasing power parity data of the World Bank.) It was the 70th among 78 countries of the world and about 17% (or slightly more than 1/6) of Japan’s. The actual growth rate of labor productivity since late 90s was 7.6%. (Annual average. The 5th among 67 countries in the world.) |
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Japan’s GDP labor productivity in 2004 was affected negatively by the fact that the number of workers that kept on declining in the past turned to increase in 2004.However, the increase of value added resulted in improvement of US$2,932 or 5.2%.
Japan’s labor productivity is rather average among OECD nations due to relatively high employment rate and low labor productivity in the non-manufacturing sector. |
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Japan’s labor productivity in manufacturing in 2004 reflected increased value added on the face of decreasing number of workers. Additionally, the fluctuation of exchange rate (higher Yen) also contributed to eventual increase of US$5,793.
The decrease of workers has the effect of improving the labor productivity. In Japan, even during the period of 2003 to 2004, when the economy picked up, the number of workers kept on declining. |
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The trend of labor productivity in Japan was favorable in manufacturing industry but only slow and steadily improving in the service industry. The number of workers decreased in manufacturing while continuous increase was recorded in the service industry. This may mean that service industry is accepting workers migrating from manufacturing. The contrasting productivity trends in these sectors maybe partly due to this background.
The actual labor productivity growth rate in Japan since 2000 was 1.65% on annual average. This figure was huge improvement over 0.46% recorded for the period of later half of 90s. Considering the fact that Japan had lowest growth rate at the time, the growth improved noticeably. |
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On the other hand, the growth rate of actual labor productivity in Japan still lags that of the United States. The gap of labor productivity between the two countries has actually kept on increasing since 90s. |
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This survey compared GDP per capita of various countries, national economy productivity (GDP per worker= GDP labor productivity,) industry-specific actual value added labor productivity of 7 major industrialized countries, labor productivity of manufacturing sector, etc. based on the data of the OECD and the World Bank. In calculating the GDP labor productivity, the value added of each country is converted into U.S. Dollar using nominal purchasing power parity. The purchasing power parity in 2004 was 133.72 Japanese Yen to the U.S. Dollar in the OECD data and 132.54 Japanese Yen to the U.S. Dollar in the World Bank data.
Purchasing power parity is the rates of currencies required to purchase predetermined combination of goods in set amount taking into account the different prices of goods in different countries. If, for example, a hamburger of McDonald’s of the same quality and size cost US$1 in the U.S. and 100 Japanese Yen in Japan, then the purchasing power parity of that hamburger is US$1=100 JYN. Purchasing power parity is defined by applying this concept to combination of goods that is perceived as representative of GDP. |
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