What does the marginal product of labor measure in an economic context?

The marginal product of labor measures how much extra output a company gets when it hires one more worker while keeping everything else the same. This concept is important because it helps businesses decide how many workers they need to maximize their production. For example, if a factory produces 100 toys with 5 workers and then produces 110 toys with 6 workers, the marginal product of labor for that sixth worker is 10 toys. Understanding this helps companies figure out if hiring more workers is worth it based on how much additional product they can create. In simple terms, it shows the value of each additional worker in terms of the extra goods they produce.