Final answer:
The statement that managers might lay off workers to improve labor productivity is true, as labor productivity measurements can lead to unsustainable practices that do not accurately reflect a company's efficiency.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that a weakness of the labor productivity measure is that managers might be tempted to lay off workers to improve labor productivity is true. Employers who are seeking to demonstrate increased labor productivity may do so by reducing the number of employees, which can indeed show a temporary increase in productivity measures but might not accurately reflect the overall efficiency or health of the company. This is because labor productivity as a measure does not always capture the qualitative aspects of work, and it can potentially incentivize reductions in workforce that may not be sustainable or beneficial in the long term.
Moreover, this approach fails to account for how such layoffs may affect employee morale, the natural rate of unemployment, and long-term business growth. Additionally, adjustments of wages to productivity levels can be complicated and are not instant, hindering the direct correlation between current productivity gains and wage changes. In some positions where productivity is difficult to measure, such as in the case of an accountant in a large corporation's tax department, laying off workers may not result in any genuine productivity improvements.