Japan's labor productivity ranked 30th among 38 OECD members in 2022

Japan ranked 30th in labor productivity among the 38 Organization for Economic Cooperation Development members in 2022, down two spots from the previous year and to a new lowest-ever position, a Tokyo-based group has said. Measured by the worth of goods or services a worker can produce per hour, labor productivity totaled 52.30 in Japan, the lowest calculated among the Group of Seven advanced economies since 1970 when comparable data became available, the Japan Productivity Center said. The result marked the fourth straight year Japan has fallen down the rankings since placing in 21st in 2018, although its productivity calculation edged up 0.8% from the previous year, the report released in December showed. Compared to 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, Japan's productivity expanded 2.0% in 2022 but was still behind others that saw larger advances. In the 2022 rankings, Ireland placed first with 154.10 in value per person per hour, followed by Norway at 149.90, while the average among the OECD members was at 65.20.