Strong growth in the services sector and businesses holding on to more workers than they really need could explain Australia’s woeful productivity performance
it was not clear why the economy had experienced no productivity gains in three years, but stressed it was a major risk to the outlook for inflation.
“As a labour economist, my first thoughts would be the high uncertainty firms are facing due to general labour shortage after the pandemic and the AI-induced structural change in labour demand,” Dr Shen said. “Not only are firms keeping headcount higher, but they’re also working their staff ... as many hours as they ever have. It doesn’t seem as though they’re just holding on to idle capacity,” Mr Langcake said.Productivity growth has slowed in recent decades. From 1991 to 2000, it grew by 2 per cent annually. This figure fell to 1.2 per cent in the decade before the pandemic.
“Hours worked have surged in the past two years because of the pandemic, and the surge in hours worked has mostly been ... in services jobs,” Ms Mousina said.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Do people with strong religious beliefs have fewer nightmares and dreams about death? This study aims to find outAn investigation into whether faith and spirituality influences how people dream is underway, including whether people who are religious are less likely to have nightmares and dreams about death.
Read more »
Accountants face fivefold surge in fines for bad behaviourChartered Accountants ANZ will quintuple the maximum penalty payable for breaches of its code by member firms as it tries to rebuild the industry’s reputation.
Read more »
What made Zoe decide to pursue a career in agronomy?An agronomy graduate program run has doubled its intake, with more women than men entering the industry as strong growing seasons drive the demand for specialist advice.
Read more »
The ‘smoking gun’ in Prince Harry’s case against Mirror GroupPrince Harry’s strong “smoking gun” against Mirror Group Newspapers for alleged phone hacking involves an article detailing his flight arrangements with ex-girlfriend Chelsea Davy, says PR Professional and Media Lawyer Jonathan Coad. “They went on a holiday in Mozambique – before they even got there, they found paparazzi waiting for them,” Mr Coad told Sky News Australia. “The important thing was that there was a report in the Daily Mirror about the flight arrangements for his return. “Now what he said to the court is this – there is no way on God’s earth anybody was going to know my flight details for the flight home, and the reason for that is I’m a senior royal, it’s a security risk.”
Read more »
Pandemic to blame for woeful productivity: LowePandemic-era disruptions may be driving Australia’s woeful productivity performance and threaten to keep inflation elevated, RBA governor Philip Lowe has warned
Read more »