Japan Labor Productivity Falls to 28th among OECD Countries

Tokyo, Dec. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japan ranked 28th in labor productivity in 2024 among the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, falling by two notches from the previous year, reflecting sluggish economic growth, according to a survey by the Japan Productivity Center. Japan’s per-hour productivity stood at 5,720 yen, or 60.1 dollars, the survey released Monday showed, based on OECD data. Japan’s real gross domestic product declined slightly year on year in 2024, and the number of employed people rose, pushing down the pace of growth in its labor productivity by 0.6 pct from the previous year in inflation-adjusted real terms, marking the first decline in four years. After standing at 21st in 2018, Japan’s labor productivity plunged to 28th in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has been slow to recover since. Japan needs to improve productivity through the use of artificial intelligence and other technologies, Yasuhiro Kiuchi, senior principal researcher of the center, a private think tank, said. The survey used a purchasing power parity exchange rate of 95.11 yen per dollar, based on a comparison of goods and services prices between countries. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]