Manufacturing and construction pull down productivity growth

Manufacturing and construction were the main contributors to the annual 1.2 percent decline in multifactor productivity from 2006 to 2009, Statistics New Zealand said today.

“However the finance and insurance industry performed strongly, alongside the communication industry, and the long-term average remains positive – at 0.9 percent per year,” economic statistics development manager Jude Hughes said. Multifactor productivity measures how effectively existing resources such as workers and capital are used to produce goods and services.

Labour productivity, which is the amount of goods and services produced per worker, did not grow over the three years to 2009. Manufacturing and construction drove the weak labour productivity performance, but these industries were offset by the finance and insurance, agriculture, forestry and fishing, retail trade, and communication industries.

Despite no growth from 2006 to 2009, long-term labour productivity growth (1978–2009) remained positive at 2.0 percent. With the exception of accommodation, cafes, and restaurants, all industries had positive growth – with communications, agriculture, and transport and storage having the highest.

Productivity statistics are available for 24 industries, covering approximately 80 percent of the economy. Excluded are government administration and defence, health, and education.

Geoff Bascand 25 March 2011
Government Statistician