Koreans work the longest hours from amongst all OECD countries, yet have one of the very lowest productivity rates (which, as you might imagine, has been connected to low job satisfaction and even memory loss). Said rate has not improved much.
Labor productivity in Korea’s manufacturing industry grew 0.3 percent in 2008, the lowest rate in seven years. According to data released by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Korea Productivity Center on Thursday, it was the lowest rate since it dwindled 1.3 percent in 2001. In the fourth quarter of last year, productivity dropped 13.3 percent.
Korea has lower labor productivity than advanced nations, but the wage increase rate is higher than theirs, according to a report released by the Korea Economic Research Institute the same day. The country’s value-added labor productivity per hour is lower than that of the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K., France and Italy.
When value-added labor productivity per hour was converted into purchasing power as of the end of 2005, the U.S. topped the list with US$50, followed by Germany ($49.50), France ($44.10), Japan ($41.70), Italy ($39.50), and the U.K. ($38.70). Korea ranked at the bottom with $28.80.
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