Labor productivity in the construction sector in China 2010-2020

In 2020, the average production value of a worker in the construction sector in China amounted to around 423 thousand yuan, an increase of over 200 thousand yuan since 2010. In China, labor productivity had increased significantly over the past decades.

Labor productivity

Labor productivity describes the value a worker creates in a defined period. The output value hinges upon three factors: physical capital, new technology, and human capital. An increase in any of these three factors would increase a country’s labor productivity. An example of the new technology factor would be enhanced productivity as a result of utilizing artificial intelligence.

Building more, faster

The construction industry is very labor-intensive. Therefore, the employment of machinery and modern construction techniques greatly enhances productivity. As China developed, it had more resources to purchase and build machinery. In addition to that, Chinese enterprises purchase foreign companies to gain access to new construction technology. In 2016, a heavy equipment manufacturer from Changsha took over the German concrete company Putzmeister, a world leader in concrete pump manufacturing.