February 29, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Korea had largest manufacturing productivity gain in 2006

Manufacturing labor productivity increased in 2006 in 15 of the 16 economies under comparison. The Republic of Korea had the largest productivity increase—10.8 percent—while Germany and Taiwan followed with increases of 7.1 and 6.9 percent, respectively.

[Chart data—TXT]

The United States productivity increase of 2.0 percent placed it twelfth among the 16 economies compared, while Canada was the only economy with a decline in productivity (-0.1 percent).

Manufacturing output increased in 14 of the 16 economies in 2006. Korea and Taiwan were the leaders in the growth of output.

There were reductions in total hours worked in manufacturing in 8 of the 16 economies. The United Kingdom had the greatest decline in hours in 2006, followed by Korea and France.

These data are from the Foreign Labor Statistics program. Labor productivity is measured by output per hour. Data are subject to revision. This article updates one that appeared in The Editor’s Desk in 2007: "International factory productivity gains in 2006". Additional information is available in "International Comparisons of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Cost Trends, 2006, Revised," news release USDL 08-0261.