The NYT article below "buries its lead" in paragraph 13: "But partly because of the comparatively high number of hours that Americans work, the report found that France and Belgium edged out the United States in productivity per hour. In France, which ranked first, workers produced $33.71 of value added per hour on average, compared with $32.98 in Belgium and $32.84 in the United States." http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/01/national/01HOUR.html?todaysheadlines New York Times: September 1, 2001 Report Shows Americans Have More 'Labor Days' By STEVEN GREENHOUSE United Nations agency provided some discouraging news yesterday to Americans who believe they are overworked, finding that American workers have increased their substantial lead over Japan and all other industrial nations in the number of hours worked each year. The report, issued by the International Labor Organization, found that Americans added nearly a full week to their work year during the 1990's, climbing to 1,979 hours on average last year, up 36 hours from 1990. That means Americans who are employed are putting in nearly 49 1/2 weeks a year on the job. . . . Tom Walker Bowen Island, BC 604 947 2213
