STORY: Australian workers' productivity falls 3.7 percent
SHOOTING TIME: March 1, 2024
DATELINE: March 2, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:22
LOCATION: Canberra
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Australian construction worker
2. various of Australian factory worker

STORYLINE:

The productivity of Australian workers fell sharply in 2022-23, a government report has found.
   
The federal government's principal review and advisory body, the Productivity Commission, has published its annual productivity bulletin, revealing that labor productivity fell 3.7 percent in the 12 months to the end of June 2023.
   
By comparison, the long-term average annual growth rate for Australian productivity was 1.3 percent.
   
The report attributed the fall in the cited period to a record-high 6.9 percent increase in the number of hours worked by Australians in the same period.
   
"We now have a clearer understanding of what's behind Australia's productivity slump. Sharp increases in working hours have seen productivity decline, but this makes policies to boost productivity even more important," Alex Robson, deputy chair of the commission, said in a media release.
   
He said that average wages increased in 2022-23 mostly because people were working more hours.
   
With the proportion of working age Australians in the labor force hitting a record-high 67 percent in 2023, Robson said that the economy can not rely on people working harder or longer as a source of income growth moving forward.
   
"What's worse, we know nominal wage growth without productivity growth can fuel inflation. Sustainable, long-term wage growth can only be realized by securing productivity gains," he said.
   
The capital-to-labor ratio, which measures employer spending on equipment to improve output, fell a record 4.9 percent for the year.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Canberra.
(XHTV)