French output steps up the pace

Europe believes in smarter work, not longer hours

France and Germany, the bastions of the shorter working week, are still Europe's most productive economies, a survey has found.

Growth in output per French worker came top of poll of 5,000 firms for consultancy Deloitte, and Germany was not far behind.

Meanwhile, the UK, where productivity is usually high, suffered a reverse.

British firms registered their slowest productivity growth in 14 months, and are now below the EU average.

Deloitte said the fall was a possible reflection of an upturn in recruitment in the UK - something that can result in a fall in overall efficiency.

Escalating cost pressures

Productivity - a measure of output per worker - is crucial to the European economy.

The European Union sees improving productivity as a way of catching up economically with the US, where output has been boosted by more intensive use of information technology.

In recent years, studies have shown that European workers are at least as efficient as their US colleagues, compensating in part for their generally far shorter working hours.

France and Germany have adhered strongly to EU restrictions on working hours - restrictions which some economists say have restricted Europe's economic output.

Deloitte's Eurozone Productivity Indicator has seen growth across the EU for 31 months in a row, although the pace of increase remains below record rates seen last year.

In the US, meanwhile, productivity has not grown anywhere near as quickly as some analysts hoped.