Economy

Irish workers twice as productive as EU counterparts, CSO figures show

Employees here added on average €97.10 to the value of the economy for every hour they worked in the final quarter of 2023

Productivity is loosely defined as the rate at which goods or services are produced in an economy. Photograph: iStock

Eoin Burke-Kennedy
Wed Apr 3 2024 - 12:27

Irish workers had the highest rate of labour productivity in the EU last year, adding on average €97.10 to the value of the economy for every hour they worked, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

This was above workers in the next highest ranked member state Luxembourg (€92.20 per hour) and over double the EU average of €41.30 per hour.

Productivity is loosely defined as the rate at which goods or services are produced in an economy. It is a key driver of earnings and prosperity. The CSO’s headline figure is, however, inflated by the multinational-dominated foreign sector.

Labour productivity for workers in the multinational-dominated foreign sector was €381 per hour in the final quarter of last year (down 0.2 per cent on the previous three months) compared to €53.80 per hour for workers in the domestic sector (up 0.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter). The disparity between the two reflects the value-add attached to certain multinational products.

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But the CSO noted in its report that Ireland’s domestic labour productivity was still “considerably above the EU average, and higher than France, Spain and the Czech Republic”.

Commenting on the results, the CSO’s Doireann O’Brien said: “While movements in productivity should generally be viewed over a longer time period, these results provide the most up-to-date picture on productivity in the Irish economy to keep policymakers, economists and the wider public as informed as possible.”

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times

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