S. Korea's manufacturing labor productivity down in Q3

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's labor productivity in the manufacturing
sector fell in the third quarter of last year amid slumping domestic demand and
an economic slowdown, data showed Monday.

According to the data provided by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the labor
productivity index for the nation's manufacturing sector stood at 121.3 in the
July-September quarter, down 0.4 percent from 121.8 in the same period a year
earlier.
This marks the first decline since the third quarter of 2001 when productivity
contracted 4 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said. It also marks a
sharp turnaround from 8.5 percent and 7.6 percent on-year productivity growth in
the first and second quarters of this year.
Labor productivity is measured by dividing the total output with the total labor
input during a certain period of time, the ministry explained.
According to the report, labor input increased 6 percent on-year in the third
quarter of last year, while shipments gained 5.5 percent over the cited period.
The South Korean economy, Asia's fourth-largest, grew 0.5 percent on-quarter in
the third quarter of last year, the slowest pace in four years, as domestic and
overseas demand remained weak.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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