Australia's Labor Productivity Falls 1% as Commission Pushes Reform Summit

Photo by kris on Unsplash

Australia's labor productivity declined 1% over the past year, marking a troubling continuation of a decade-long stagnation that has left the nation's productivity levels essentially unchanged since 2014, the Productivity Commission's deputy chair revealed Friday.

Alex Robson told AM Agenda that Australia faces urgent challenges in boosting economic output, with productivity growth remaining flat despite brief improvements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Australia has had stagnant productivity growth and a level of productivity that's basically been the same for the last 10 years," Robson said. "There was a period in COVID where there was a bit of a bubble. And in the last year, Labor productivity went backwards by 1%."

The stark assessment comes as the government prepares for a productivity summit designed to build consensus around economic reforms. The Productivity Commission previously delivered 71 recommendations to government, with mixed implementation results.

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