S. Korea lags behind Japan in labor productivity

By Koh Byung-joon
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea lags behind its Asian rival Japan in terms
of labor productivity, a government report showed, indicating that the nation
needs to improve the overall efficiency of its labor management.
According to the report by the National Statistical office, South Korea's labor
productivity was 10 percent lower than that of Japan. Labor productivity is
calculated by dividing added value by total workers.
South Korea's labor productivity was far lower than Japan in the electronics
sector. Labor productivity of Japanese tech companies was two times better than
their Korean counterparts, said the report, based on data from companies in both
countries between 2005 and 2006.
In the auto industry, the gap was much wider as labor productivity for Japanese
carmakers was 4.1 times higher than Korean manufacturers, the report said.
Meanwhile, South Korea outperformed Japan in terms of capital productivity during
the cited period, the report showed. Capital productivity is a ratio of the total
amount of production to facilities.
Japan was 68 percent and 78 percent lower than South Korea in capital
productivity in 2005 and 2006, respectively, according to the report.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)