South Korea’s labor productivity rose from a year earlier in the third quarter with improvements in both the manufacturing and service industries, the government said Thursday.

The labor productivity for the manufacturing industry rose 2.6 percent to 121.8 from the same period last year with that of the service industry rising 1.3 percent to 108.4, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

Labor productivity is measured by dividing industrial output by labor input during a given period of time. The government uses 2008 as the base year.

The country‘s overall labor productivity, however, gained only 0.7 percent on-year to 110.4 as that of the construction industry plunged 12.7 percent from 2010.

“The country’s total output rose 3.7 percent from the same period last year despite continued uncertainties about a global economic recovery,” the ministry said. “In addition, the country has maintained a positive trend in terms of both output and employment.”

The gap between the productivity of employees at large conglomerates and small companies expanded. The number for big businesses rose 1.7 percent to 118.4, while smaller firms only managed to pull off a gain of 0.1 percent to 110, it said.

Meanwhile, the ministry said the country‘s labor productivity was closing the gap with those of advanced or developed countries, such as the United States, whose overall productivity in terms of output per worker dropped from 171.1 in 2009 to 169.5 with South Korea’s labor productivity serving as the base. (Yonhap News)