Productivity growth in services : the role of prices measurement

Between 1996 and 2005, employment and added value increased more quickly in market services than in all the other branches of the economy. On the other hand, the added value created per employee increased at close rates in nearly all the branches. But, whereas in the industry, the evolution is the result of high profits in labour productivity and a weak rise of the prices, it is the opposite in services. However, the high rise of prices in some services could be related to problems of measurement. Actually, specific prices index have been recently set up to observe prices in computer services and renting of vehicles: they reveal a fall or a price stability of these services, whereas the indicators used before indicated a rise.