They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a United Nations report released yesterday.

It said the United States 'leads the world in labour productivity'.

Each US worker produces US$63,885 (S$97,300) of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said in its report.

The US is followed by Ireland at US$55,986; Luxembourg at US$55,641; Belgium at US$55,235 and France at US$54,609.

The productivity figure is derived by dividing the country's gross domestic product by the number of people employed.

The report is based on 2006 figures for many countries, or the most recent data available.

It said only part of the US productivity growth, which has outpaced that of many other developed economies, can be explained by the longer hours Americans are putting in.

It said the US also beats all 27 nations in the European Union, as well as Japan and Switzerland in the amount of wealth created per hour of work - a second key measure of productivity.

Norway, which is not an EU member, generates the most output per working hour - US$37.99.

The US is second at US$35.63, about half a dollar ahead of third-placed France.

The US employee worked an average of 1,804 hours last year, the report said. But he paled in comparison with workers in Asia.

The average number of hours a worker put in a year surpassed 2,200 in seven Asian economies - South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Thailand.

But those places had lower productivity rates.

ASSOCIATED PRESS