This Labor Day 2017, take note that American workers rank in the top five for most productive workers in the world. (see chart below)
Labor Day 2017 is meant to be a celebration of the vigor, ingenuity and just plain hard work displayed by American workers.
For decades, Americans have held a high spot on the list of the most productive workers in the world.
We're still there.
Here's a ranking of the 25 most productive workers on Earth compiled by Time Magazine and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
List of most productive workers per country
GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product, the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country annually. The "GDP per hour" is a measure of labor productivity per hour which also reflects the intensity of effort, capital, technology, organizations, and efficiency, that a country exhibits.
| Rank | Country | GDP per hour worked | Employed population | GDP in US dollars | Average work week in hours |
| 1 | Luxembourg | $93.4 | 405,600 | $57b | 29 |
| 2 | Ireland | $87.3 | 1,989,400 | $302b | 33.5 |
| 3 | Norway | $81.3 | 2,753,000 | $318b | 27.3 |
| 4 | Belgium | $69.7 | 4,601,200 | $498b | 29.8 |
| 5 | United States | $68.3 | 151,000,000 | $18.037b | 33.6 |
| 6 | Denmark | $67.6 | 2,829,000 | $270b | 27.2 |
| 7 | France | $65.6 | 27,523,000 | $2,648b | 28.2 |
| 8 | Germany | $65.5 | 43,057,000 | $3.857b | 26.3 |
| 9 | Netherlands | $65.4 | 8,792,000 | $818b | 27.4 |
| 10 | Switzerland | $64.2 | 4,962,600 | $506b | 30.6 |
| 11 | Austria | $60.2 | 4,290,700 | $415b | 30.9 |
| 12 | Sweden | $59.1 | 4,809,700 | $458b | 31 |
| 13 | Finland | $54.8 | 2,497,400 | $225b | 31.6 |
| 14 | Australia | $54.6 | 11,860,000 | $1,101b | 32.7 |
| 15 | United Kingdom | $52.1 | 31,293.000 | $2.701b | 31.9 |
| 16 | Italy | $51.9 | 24,476,100 | $2.191b | 33.1 |
| 17 | Spain | $51 | 18,490, 800 | $1.594b | 32.5 |
| 18 | Canada | $50.9 | 18,285,700 | $1.589b | 32.8 |
| 19 | Iceland | $45.1 | 183,700 | $16b | 36.1 |
| 20 | Japan | $41.9 | 65,801,200 | $4.741b | 33.1 |
| 21 | New Zealand | $40.9 | 2,360,600 | $170b | 33.8 |
| 22 | Slovenia | $40.4 | 941,500 | $64b | 32.5 |
| 23 | Israel | $40.3 | 3,947,100 | $300b | 36.3 |
| 24 | Slovak Republic | $39.7 | 2,267,100 | $158b | 33.7 |
| 25 | Czech Republic | $38 | 5,179,700 | $346b | 33.8 |
America sure has some dedicated workers using some of the best equipment and technology out there.
Labor Day, first adopted by the state of Oregon in 1887, was created as a holiday to honor American them.
One of the advocates for the holiday, Rep. Lawrence McGann said back in 1894, "By making one day in each year a public holiday for the benefit of the working man the equality and dignity of labor is emphasized.
"Nothing is more important to the public weal than that the nobility of labor be maintained. So long as the laboring man can feel that he holds an honorable as well as useful place in the body politic, so long will he (and she) be a loyal and faithful citizen."
As you can see, Americans have not slacked off since then. Not only are we in the top five for most productive workers, we have a heck of a lot of workers, 151 million, that all have to be in gear to achieve that ranking.
Impact of construction industry
Many of those workers are in the facility, architectural and construction sectors. That means they are either designing, building or taking care of some sort of structure. That activity generates quite a bit of additional business in the US - transporting materials to construction sites, adding commercial site furnishings, buying appliances, installing electricity and lighting, etc., etc. etc.
Here are some interesting facts about the US construction industry:
- Annual revenue - $1.7 trillion
- Number of construction companies in the US - 729,345
- Number of construction company employees in the US - 7,316,240
- Average construction company employee salary - $45,200
- Number of licensed architects in the US in 2015 - 110,168
Source: US Census Bureau and National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
That's the industry that the Park and Facility Catalog has been involved in since 2001. Our employees manufacture and distribute the outdoor benches, picnic tables, trash receptacles, aluminum bleachers, commercial bike racks and other commercial site furnishings used at those facilities, schools, parks, theme parks, universities, stadiums, retail centers and office buildings.
We're glad to do it. Proud of our many products. And grateful to all the men and women out there who work to either build facilities or do what they can to make them an enjoyable and safe place to visit.
This Labor Day Holiday, Monday, Sept. 4, relax and enjoy the day off.
You do deserve it.