## Task 2 - 020812

For the assembly of 1000 complete switch parts for electrical appliances, a worker at the VEB Elektro-Apparate-Werk Berlin-Treptow previously required $27 \frac{1}{2}$ hours. In a student competition, a student submitted an improvement suggestion that reduced this time to $16 \frac{1}{2}$ hours.

a) By what percentage did the working time decrease?

b) By what percentage did the labor productivity increase?

Note: In this case, labor productivity is understood as the quotient of the number of switch parts and the working time required for their production.
The working time decreased by $11: 27 \frac{1}{2} \cdot 100 \% = 40 \%$.

The productivity was previously $36 \frac{4}{11} \mathrm{~h}^{-1}$, and now it is $60 \frac{20}{33} \mathrm{~h}^{-1}$. It has thus increased by $66 \frac{2}{3} \%$.