Which measure is NOT a direct component of productivity?

• A. Output per worker
• B. Hours worked per worker
• C. Number of employees in the firm
• D. Output per hour

Answer: (C)

Productivity is about how much output is produced for a given amount of input. The direct ways to show this efficiency are by relating output to a unit of input, such as output per worker or output per hour. These directly express how productively resources are being used. The number of employees in the firm, on the other hand, reflects the size of the workforce rather than how efficiently outputs are produced; it tells you about scale, not efficiency. Hours worked per worker is an input-related measure and helps in calculating productivity (for example, when computing output per hour), but it doesn’t by itself stand as a productivity measure. So the measure that does not directly form a productivity ratio is the number of employees in the firm.