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# The Productivity Commission just updated its dashboard - not good
- URL: https://www.benchmarkanalytics.com.au/the-productivity-commission-just-updated-its-dashboard-not-good/
- Published: 2026-09-06T23:10:28.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-06T23:10:27.000Z
- Author: Nick Hossack

The Productivity Commission’s latest dashboard shows **whole-economy labour productivity fell 0.2% over the year to June 2026**. Labour productivity measures the amount of economic output produced for each hour worked.

More concerning is the longer-term result. Over the past five years, Australian labour productivity has declined by an average **0.5% a year**.

That means Australia is not simply experiencing unusually slow productivity growth. On this measure, the economy is now producing **less output per hour worked than its recent trajectory would suggest**.

This matters because productivity is ultimately the foundation for sustainable increases in real wages and living standards. Employment and population growth can increase the size of the economy, but without productivity growth they do much less to increase prosperity per person.

The latest figures reinforce a central weakness in Australia’s recent economic performance: **we are adding labour without generating commensurate improvements in what each hour of work produces.**

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/de/5d/de5d1f33-5b16-4880-95ff-5d52cee4cac5/content/images/2026/09/image-1.png)