S. Korea's labor productivity gains in 2014

South Korea's labor productivity continued to improve in 2014 from a year earlier largely on a gain in the service sector, the government said Thursday.

The country's overall labor productivity index rose 1.5 percent to 101.9 last year, marking the second consecutive year of on-year gain, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Labor productivity is measured by dividing total industrial output by total labor input, with that of 2010 serving as a baseline of 100.

The increase came mostly from a rise in the service sector, whose labor productivity rose 2.7 percent on-year to 102.9, more than offsetting a 1.7 percent drop in the construction sector.

Labor productivity of the manufacturing sector inched up to 102.5 last year from 102.4 in 2013.

The country's overall industrial output rose 1.2 percent on-year, again as output by the service sector gained 2.2 percent while that of the construction industry shrank 0.8 percent.

Overall labor input slipped 0.4 percent on-year despite a 0.7 percent increase in the overall number of workers as their total work hours were cut by 1 percent, the ministry said. (Yonhap)