International and Comparative Viewpoint on Productitive Development in Finland

Finnish value added per hour in 1997 was lower than it was in EU15, the US, Germany and Sweden. In manufacturing and in five of its sub-industries, as well as in construction and wholesale the Finnish level of labour productivity was higher than in the aforementioned countries. Finnish labour productivity was on par with EU15 by 2004. In four manufacturing sub-industries and in construction and wholesale the Finnish performance was the best. A common feature in the Finnish industries exhibiting rapid productivity increase was in European comparison a brisk growth of multi-factor productivity and a larger increase in the contribution of intermediate inputs than in the US. Some low productivity industries have compensated their modest productivity gains with increased prices. Finnish labour and capital inputs have undergone shifts towards a burgeoning share of white collar labour as well as an extensive computerization.