The OECD (2001) highly recommends the use of the total number of hours worked to
measure the contribution of labour force to output8. However, given the data limitations, in
this study labour is measured in terms of number of workers rather than hours worked. The
year-end values of number of employed persons are derived from the “Labour Yearbook
1996” and “China Statistical Yearbook 2006”. Employment series for industry are obtained
by subtracting labour force in construction sector from secondary sector total employment
figures.