| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : NOVEMBER 29, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| NEWS: ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY
Productivity: Who's Gaining--And Who Isn't THE STARS Computer and semiconductor industries have been the biggest contributors to measured productivity growth in the 1990s, with gains in excess of 25% annually. By comparison, the output per worker in the rest of manufacturing is growing at only 2.4%. THE COST-CUTTERS Many companies have become much more efficient without fundamentally changing what they make. Industries with more than 4% annual productivity growth in the 1990s include tires, textiles, household appliances, and aircraft. THE INNOVATORS Widely used innovations such as wireless telephones, Internet browsers, improved drug treatments for depression, and automated teller machines may not be correctly counted in the economic statistics for years. THE UNMEASURED In sectors such as health care, education, government, and much of financial services, economists disagree what the proper measure of productivity is, much less how to calculate it. THE LAGGARDS many industries have low or even negative productivity gains. For example, productivity in food stores fell at an average rate of 0.9% from 1989 to 1997 (the last year available). Other industries showing less than 2% annual gains in the 1990s include hotels and motels, restaurants, car dealers, auto repair shops, and furniture manufacturers. Data: Business Week, Bureau of Labor Statistics _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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RELATED ITEMS Commentary: How Fast Can This Hot Rod Go? TABLE: Productivity: Who's Gaining--And Who Isn't CHART: Overall Productivity Is Gaining Ground...While Companies Beat the '60s... CHART: ...Including Manufacturers...And Corporations Are Voting with Their Budgets INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
