Productivity’s taken another hit. 

Stats NZ data shows a 0.9% decline in multifactor productivity in the year to March, and while labour productivity increased 0.8%, it was a result of hours dropping faster than outputs.  

Primary industries are doing the heavy lifting, with a 72% increase in goods and services per hour. 

Forsyth Barr Investment Strategist Zoe Wallis told Mike Hosking that productivity has been a long-standing issue – the current situation is about 50 years in the making, based on the data.  

We haven’t managed to turn the slow-moving ship around, she says, which will take time and a lot of cohesive policy from successive governments.  

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