Workforce productivity

As labor productivity ( labor productivity in English ) is defined as the quotient of quantitative performance and quantitative excessive labor. Labour productivity is a factor related part of productivity, in which the total market output (as opposed to productivity) only the production factor labor is compared. Common applications for the labor productivity, especially in the national accounts as overall labor productivity, as well as in foreign trade (see Ricardian model ), sometimes in Human Resources.

Labour productivity is further defined as:

  • Parameter for the performance of an economy, an industry or a company
  • Benchmark for the international competitiveness of a country
  • 2.1 National and international comparisons
  • 2.2 Wage Policy

Classification and calculation

Since the labor productivity refers only to the use of labor, are other factors that are necessary for the production, neglected. The result of the code is therefore to critically. The rule is: the smaller the work used, the higher the labor productivity. But in the interpretation must be noted that a change in the output quantity is not necessarily based on a change of job performance. Reasons for this may lie in the propagation of another input factor, such as investment in new equipment (technical progress ). An increase in labor productivity can also result from an increase in the capital employed, improved training of the workforce or a better equipment of machines.

Formula:

Labor productivity index

The labor productivity index is defined as output per input component of the working volume and used in official statistics in the calculation of labor productivity in mining and manufacturing. This production indices are used. These are used to measure the quantitative performance and the production results and are used in the numerator. In the denominator, a suitable measure of the labor input ( input component ) will be used. Depending on the measurement number is used here, two labor productivity indices can be calculated:

  • Labor productivity index per employee,
  • Labor productivity index per hour worked.

The formula for this calculation is:

If the productivity index is greater than 1, it is assumed that the production is increased more than the work operation. Labour productivity has increased.

Macroeconomic labor productivity

In the national accounts is the overall labor productivity ratio of gross domestic product and the amount of work units used. This may be the number of workers or of workers, the number of hours worked or hours paid. Overall labor productivity indicates the contribution of a worker makes an average gross domestic product.

Formula:

Average labor productivity

The average labor productivity (average productivity of labor ), describes the amount of output that is produced in a working hour on average. This is the quotient of the production volume and the volume of work. The average labor productivity increases when the production quantity Q grows faster than the volume of work A; that is, that fewer hours are needed on average to produce one unit of output.

Formula:

Application

National and international comparisons

The labor productivity determines the real standard of living that can achieve a country for its citizens. The value that an economy produces in goods and services, corresponds to the value that was (for example, wages and business profits) paid to all factors of production. Consumers can thus only increase their consumption by increasing their total amount produced.

To examine the development of labor productivity of an economy 's real gross domestic product is used in the rule. In comparisons of industries within a country, the value added of economic activities at current prices, based on a labor force may be used. For international comparisons, the nominal GDPs at current exchange rates in a currency converted, about U.S. dollars or euros, be used, or making the gross domestic products on purchasing power parities comparable. In the latter, the different purchasing power of different currencies invoice should be worn. The differences between current exchange rates and purchasing power parities can be considerable.

If the number of workers employed as unit of work does this compare with the per capita income of an economy.

Wage policy

In the productivity-oriented wage policy in which wages are increased simultaneously with the overall labor productivity. There are theoretical approaches that are in practice relatively controversial. Labour productivity can be used to determine the distribution between profits and labor income in a company. For this purpose, profit share and wage ratio are calculated. A change in labor productivity has this effect on the wage rate. Increases in the nominal wage rate as a result of tariff increases or reductions in working time have reversed an impact on labor productivity.

Labor productivity in industrialized countries

The U.S. had in 2001 a higher level of production per employed person as the other developed countries (see Table gross domestic product per person in employment ). The high growth of the U.S. labor productivity is the result of the rapid technological change of the 90s. Thus caused the increased use of computers and robots, also called computer revolution, new growth opportunities. The growth in the U.S. In the decades before, however, was much lower than in other industrialized countries. From 1974 to 2001, there was generally less than from 1960 to 1973 in the industrialized countries. Japan had from 1960 to 1991, the highest growth rate of labor productivity, followed by Germany and France. The growth in the U.S. was the lowest. This can be partially attributed to differences in investment rates and growth of the capital stock in these countries. The higher growth rates of Japan, Germany and France resulted from the reconstruction after the Second World War, with a high capital growth played a role. These countries are thus faced a catch-up took place. Following the Federal Statistical Office, the overall labor productivity per person employed in Germany from 1991 has increased by 22.5 % by 2006. Labour productivity per hour worked rose by 32.4 %. This reflects the reduction in the average per employee hours worked increased by 7.5%.

Literature sources

  • Brockhaus (eds.): The Brockhaus economy, labor productivity: Leipzig, Mannheim 2004, ISBN 3-7653-0311-9
  • Adolf E. Luger: General Business Administration. ( Vol.1 ), 5th edition, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-446-22539-0
  • Franz Haslinger: National Accounts. 6th edition, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-486-22406-9
  • Uwe Westphal: Macroeconomics. 2nd edition, Heidelberg 1994, ISBN 3-540-57934-6
  • Robert S. Pindyck, Daniel L. Rubinfeld: Microeconomics. 6th edition, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-8273-7164-3
  • Heinz -Josef Bontrup: Economics - Principles of micro and macroeconomics. Munich, Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-486-24233-4
  • Thomas White: Labour productivity, not only a key labor market and macroeconomic category, in: Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Stephan Laske, Manfred Heavy (ed.): work orientation in economics - diversity as an indicator or as a potential crisis? Series for interdisciplinary work science. Volume 2 Munich and Mering 2014, ISBN 978-3-86618-880-8 (print), ISBN 978-3-86618-980-5 ( e-book)
Capital (economics)
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