2007 - Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago

CENTRAL BANK OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGOANNUAL ECONOMIC SURVEY 2007PRODUCTIVITYAccording to the Index of Productivity (as measuredby the Index of Domestic Production divided by the Indexof Man Hours Worked), there was a marked gainin productivity in 2007. During the first nine months of2007, the index of productivity increased by 8.9 percent. The largest improvements in productivity wereobserved in the energy sector with increases of 92.0 percent and 47.9 per cent in the Exploration of Oil and Gasand the Petrochemicals industries, respectively. In thenon-energy sector, significant enhancements were observedin the Drink and Tobacco (37.3 per cent) andthe Printing, Publishing and Paper Convertors (26.4 percent) industries. In respect of the Drink and Tobacco,the completion of a factory upgrade by West IndianTobacco Company (WITCO) during the year wasan important contributor to productivity gains. Conversely,notable declines of 4.0 per cent and 7.6 percent occurred in the Food Processors and Chemicalsand Non-Metallic Products industries, respectively.TABLE 12THE MANUFACTURING SECTORCHANGES IN KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS/ Per cent /EXPLORATION &PRODUCTION OF OIL &NATURAL GASSUGAR MANUFACTURINGMANUFACTURING(EXCLUDING ENERGY &SUGAR)ALL INDUSTRIESJAN - SEPTJAN - SEPT JAN - SEPT JAN - SEPT2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 200720062007ProductionHours WorkedNominal EarningsReal Earnings9.015.5(43.4)(46.9)(10.8)(53.7)(9.9)(10.7)(36.2)(35.7)(3.6)(3.9)(16.2)(15.5)12.211.317.00.213.712.713.92.70.80.710.90.99.08.49.40.50.90.9Source: Central Statistical Office.34