The Productivity Commission with the report.
A year has passed since the ‘COVID-19 productivity bubble’ and Australian productivity growth appears to have reverted to the same stagnant pattern as before the pandemic, despite the very different economic conditions.
Labour productivity declined by 0.8% for the whole economy in the June 2024 quarter (an increase of 0.5% over the 12 months to June 2024).
• Growth in hours worked (1.1%) outpaced growth in output (0.2%) resulting in a decline in labour productivity.
• Labour productivity decreased in both the market sector (-0.7%) and the non-market sector (-0.9%).
Hours worked has regained momentum after two quarters of negative growth in the September and December 2023 quarters, suggesting the labour market remains tight.
• Hours worked increased as the number of people employed increased by 0.8%, and hours worked per worker increased by 0.3%. Administrative and support services contributed to largest increase in hours worked growth, followed by retail trade and education and training.
Labour productivity increased in half of the market sector industries.
• Labour productivity grew the most in arts and recreation services (7.6%) and electricity, gas, water and waste services (6.1%). In contrast, the largest falls were in administrative and support services (-4.2%) and retail trade (-3.6%).
This is what you get when you:
- kill industry with unaffordable energy;
- kill dynamism with a property bubble;
- kill the market sector with onerous interest rates;
- kill competition with vested interest pandering;
- kill education and training with cheap foreign labour, and
- disguise it all with a vast taxpayer-funded scheme to promote personal spasticity?
Latter, lazier, poorer.
