productivity

noun

pro·duc·tiv·i·ty | \ˌprō-dək-ˈti-və-tē,

ˌprä-, prə-ˌdək-\

Definition of productivity

1 : the quality or state of being productive

2 : the rate per unit area or per unit volume at which biomass consumable as food by other organisms is made by producers

Examples of productivity in a Sentence

The country has low agricultural productivity. The company is looking for ways to improve worker productivity. There has been an increase in productivity.

Recent Examples on the Web

But she was dismayed by how health care in the U.S. can sometimes emphasize productivity and cost-effectiveness over quality of patient care. — Barbara Brody, Glamour, "The Ob-Gyn Shortage Is Real—And It Might Impact Your Care," 14 Nov. 2018 Globally, Gates told attendees, unsafe sanitation costs an estimated $223 billion a year in the form of higher health costs and lost productivity and wages. — Sui-lee Wee, The Seattle Times, "Bill Gates encourages the world to build a better toilet," 6 Nov. 2018 Ryde makes slower travel so accommodating to productivity and leisure that most passengers consider the travel time almost inconsequential. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "The World of 2045," 14 Oct. 2018 If that happens, productivity and pay should start to rise. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "The big question about today’s economy — are wages going to start growing?," 23 Aug. 2018 Burnout fleeces our economy for over $300 billion annually in absenteeism, job turnover, lost productivity and medical claims. — Philip Chard, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Burnout reflects a conflict between our inner calling and what we have to do," 13 July 2018 The people with the app on their phone reported lower stress, higher productivity and no spike in anxiety. — William Wan, Washington Post, "Rebel developers are trying to cure our smartphone addiction — with an app," 17 June 2018 The people with the app on their phone reported lower stress, higher productivity and no spike in anxiety. — William Wan, Houston Chronicle, "Rebel developers are trying to cure our smartphone addiction - with an app," 17 June 2018 The creativity that entrepreneurs bring to economic activity gives rise to higher productivity and higher incomes. — Peter Crabb, idahostatesman, "Entrepreneurs and new ideas lead us forward, drive prosperity | Idaho Statesman," 25 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'productivity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

7 Dec 2018

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The first known use of productivity was in 1808

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More Definitions for productivity

productivity

noun

Financial Definition of productivity

What It Is

Productivity refers to the measure of output (e.g. products) from a production process per unit of input (e.g. labor and capital).

How It Works

Productivity is usually expressed as a ratio of output to inputs. It can be expressed as units of a product (e.g. cars) per worker-hour (total number of hours worked by all workers on that car). Given the cost of the worker-hour, productivity can also measure the efficiency of a company.

These measures are quantitative and relatively easy to measure. However, other factors of productivity, such as creativity, innovation, teamwork, and even quality are qualitative and more difficult to measure

Why It Matters

In most business models, profitability is a function of productivity, price, and volume. In other words, a company's success is measured by how efficiently it uses its resources to produce its product, the price it can sell its products, and how many products it can actually sell. When comparing companies within a sector, for example, it is very important for investors to understand the relative productivity comparisons between companies producing the same products.

Source: Investing Answers

productivity

noun