Manufacturing employment patterns exhibit dynamics distinct from GDP contributions, The employment share analysis demonstrates that manufacturing remains a crucial job creator, though with significant cross-economy variations. Turkiye (19.9%). This top tier suggests labor-intensive manufacturing structures that generate substantial employment opportunities. The prominence of Vietnam reflects its emerging role as a manufacturing hub with significant job creation capacity. Middle-tier manufacturing employers include the Islamic Republic of Iran (17.1%), Sri Lanka (16.8%), Malaysia (16.2%), and the ROK (16.0%), demonstrating manufacturing sectors that balance employment generation with productivity considerations. Thailand (15.9%) and Japan (15.3%) complete this group, with Japan's relatively modest employment share contrasting notably with its higher GDP contribution, suggesting more capital-intensive, technologically sophisticated employment share (15.9%), indicating high manufacturing productivity. Similarly, Singapore contributes substantially to GDP (21.9%) while employing a smaller workforce (12.4%), reflecting highly efficient, technology-intensive manufacturing operations. In contrast, economies like Turkiye exhibit higher employment shares (19.9%) relative to their GDP contributions (18.1%), suggesting more labor-intensive manufacturing structures and lower productivity per worker. 76 | APO PRODUCTIVITY OUTLOOK 2026 | ENERGY EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVITY IMPACTS, AND COMPOSITE INDICATOR DEVELOPMENT