Question

A retail store had sales of $45,900 in April and $56,200 in May. The store employs eight full-time workers who work a 40-hour week. In April the store also had eight part-time workers at 12 hours per week, and in May the store had nine part-timers at 17 hours per week (assume four weeks in each month).

Answer 1

7.6856%

Explanation:

What we are asked is the percentage change in productivity from April to May by using sales dollars as the measure of output.

Given:

Output in Dollars in April = $45,900

Output in Dollars in May = $56,200

8 full-time workers working 40 hours per week

8 part-time workers working 12 hours per week in April

9 part-time workers working 17 hours per week in May

4 weeks = 1 month

So, first we find Input in Hours for both April and May.

Input in Hours in April = (8*40 + 8*12) * 4 = 1664

Input in Hours in May = (8*40 + 9*17) * 4 = 1892

Then, we find Productivity for both April and May.

Generally, Productivity = Output in Dollars / Input in Hours

Productivity in April = 45,900 / 1664 = 27.584

Productivity in May = 56,200 / 1892 = 29.704

Finally, we find Percentage Change

Percentage Change = (29.704 - 27.584) / 27.584 = 0.076856 = 7.6856%