South Korea’s labor productivity fell from a year earlier in the third quarter amid the protracted economic slowdown, a report showed Wednesday.

The country’s overall labor productivity moved down 1.8 percent on-year to 104 in the July-September period, led by losses in the construction industry, where the productivity index plunged 14.1 percent, according to a report by 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 labor productivity index for the manufacturing industry edged up 2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier to 102.8, while the service industry dropped 1.5 percent to 102.8, the report showed.

The country’s total output rose 0.9 percent in the third quarter over the cited period, with the service sector leading the gain by increasing 1.7 percent. The manufacturing sector edged up 0.4 percent.

The total number of employees and working hours increased 2.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, over the cited period, it added. (Yonhap News)