Labour productivity in the OECD countries
THERE ARE LARGE DISPARITIES IN LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY LEVELS BETWEEN COUNTRIES, EVEN WITHIN THE OECD AREA
In 2021, average labour productivity in the OECD stood at $60.8/hour
Most of the countries with the lowest labour productivity in 2000 have since increased it
IN 2020, THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY IN THE OECD TRANSLATED INTO AN INCREASE OF ALMOST 4% Y-O-Y DUE TO A DECLINE IN HOURS WORKED GREATER THAN THE DECLINE IN GDP
Labour productivity grew by 3.7% y-o-y in 2020, 2.5 pp higher than the 2001-19 average
Pandemic restrictions led to reallocation of hours worked between sectors
Labour productivity by company size
LARGE FIRMS TEND TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE THAN SMALL FIRMS, ESPECIALLY IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Large companies benefit from increasing returns to scale that favor their higher productivity
Smaller companies sometimes outperform larger ones, especially in the business services sector