Labor productivity in Russia lags behind the US level by 5 times

Labor productivity in Russia in absolute terms is 5 times lower than that in the US and 3 times lower than in Germany. Alexey Nesterenko, partner of S+Consulting, told regarding this at conferences “Industrial transition: restructuring of the economy”, which was held by the publishing house “Kommersant”.

According to S+Consulting estimates, labor productivity in Russia is regarding $30,000 per person per year, in Germany, $90,000, and in the US, $150,000. “We have one person in one hour produces five times less gross product than in the United States,” Mr. Nesterenko emphasized.

At the same time, growth rates in the Russian Federation are higher: in 2008-2021, Russian labor productivity grew by an average of 1.6% annually, and in 2017-2019 – by 2.8%. In the US, the average at the same time was 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively, in Germany – 0.2% and -0.1%. True, despite the outstripping growth rates, the gap with developed economies is insurmountable. At the same pace, it will take us 50 years to reach the level of Germany and 120 years for the United States.

“It is necessary to switch to a different growth model to reach the level of developed economies in a reasonable time frame. For goal setting, a growth target of 10% can be set, which will allow us to catch up with the United States in terms of productivity in 20 years, ”says the S + Consulting study.

The possible effect of labor productivity growth under a positive scenario (2.8% per year) in 10 years can reach 102 trillion GDP. Under a negative (+0.1%) scenario, the gross product may fall by 120 trillion.

Andrew Ashes