Where Productivity Has Risen (& Where It Stagnated)

Between 2012 and 2022, GDP per hour worked has increased majorly in Eastern Europe as well as in Ireland and Turkey, data from the OECD shows. Countries that have overhauled their economies and grew their GDP in the process - like many ex-socialist and other modernizing nations - showed the biggest productivity gains in the survey. In some countries in Western and Southern Europe - including France, Italy and Spain - productivity growth stagnated and it even turned negative in Mexico and Greece.

The OECD has cautioned against comparing GDP per hour worked between countries at face value as there is still no uniform way of measuring the metric, despite recent improvements in data. However, longitudinal comparison - how a countries productivity has developed over time - are allowed.

According to recent studies, shorter work hours - for example as part of the four-day work week - can actually boost productivity. According to OECD data, the proof for this is mixed. Latin American countries as well as South Korea, Israel, Poland and Greece are among the countries with the longest working hours within the OECD. While Mexico and Greece showed negative productivity gains, increases were quite substantial in Colombia, Chile, Poland, Korea and Israel - showing that clearly more factors are at play when it comes to labor productivity. There was no data available for work hours in Japan.