Australia’s excellent productivity masked by flawed statistics

Austin, a French -based Australian journalist and independent Australian columnist, contributed to the economic reform of the Albanian government Round table table. This is a little arranged and text with extra graphics.

As most of the published results have proved, Australia has experienced a few years of increase efficiency. However, this is hidden in incorrect data and false economic narratives from various main news rooms.

How do we know that productivity increases: wage increases

Business leaders, politicians and economists told us that for decades of businesses’ salaries can only increase when productivity increases. TRUE.

Australia really enjoyed a remarkable increase fee – It rises higher than inflation – the last 18 months. Fee mercenary In March 2025, one year ago, it increased from $ 99 billion to 5.8% and rose to $ 104.8 billion. See the table below:

Consumer expenditure boom

Retail spending It was $ 37.29 billion in May, the highest for any month in the record. The sum of the first quarter of this year was 111.48 billion dollars, the highest level of all time every three months.

This is not just the growth of sales of normal retail with the population. In the last three years, according to the gross domestic product (GDP), he has seen the highest levels of all time for retail expenditures. See the table below.

More spending on luxury

Spending Eating outside, cosmetics, jewelry, abroad Flight And other luxury has risen to the records of all time, according to the percentage of all retail sales and GDP.

Imports perfumes, clocks, clocks, artworks, antiques, gold, silver and special light aeroplane At the highest levels of all time and as a percentage of imports.

Profit record

Authorities also insist that productivity should increase in order to increase the profits of the company. They’re right again.

According to the Australian Statistical Office (Pessimistic), the company has increased gross business profits since 2017. The total profit in 2022-23 was 566.1 billion dollars, in 2016, it was much more than $ 249.7 billion. In 2024-25, the profits in all sectors except mining reached $ 304.8 billion. See the table below.

Budget surplus and debt reduction

Australia is only one of six people OECD In the years 2023 and 2024, members will produce budget surplus with Ireland, Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland.

Between the 2013 and 2022 elections, clear debt 379.7 billion dollars deepened. Since the election of 2022, $ 17.4 billion Australia’s net debt has been paid back.

Conclusion: Productivity is excellent, but no longer measured correctly

All the above data indicate that Australia has a real productivity problem, the front leakage. However, since 2022, all areas of the economy have increased.

Ever since the records are kept inflation Under 3 % and unemployed The ratio of 4.5% for ten months. Australia is now less than 5% and the only economy of the world presence More than $ 400,000 per person. The only economy with a triple-a loan ratingInflation is below 2.5% and continuous GDP growth The last three years.

Such wage increase, increases in consumer expenditures, record profits, budget surpluses and debt reduction, some of them fall from a gap as they mislead – especially – – especially – – Murdoch And Nine news rooms. In fact, Australians are more productive than ever, but the productivity formula no longer measured it.

Problematic efficiency fraction

There has been ABS since 1978 calculated Australia’s efficiency index numbers by dividing GDP into the clocks in which it works in the economy.

GDP for decades tough Because it cannot measure the total output sufficiently. Similarly, the number of watches working annually is considered an inconvenient prediction, especially since Covid requires more work from a distance. In addition, the National Disability Insurance Program (NDIS) It made it difficult to measure at home with higher care of disabled individuals than in the past.

Inevitably, a dangerous share divided by a suspicious denominator will give an unreliable dividend. Therefore, the official ABS number for productivity is no longer useful.

This is where it becomes interesting: Comparing Economies

Australia’s productivity index numbers show an apartment orbit From 2015 to 2020, then the pointed ends during Covid, then a decrease since 2022. Parallel Molds observed Italy, Canada, France and the United Kingdom. See the table below.

Similar trajectories are also seen in New Zealand, Luxembourg, Germany and Greece.

Only one minority of OECD members is still productive over time, despite the world -wide progress in technology, artificial intelligence and business innovation.

This confirms that the weakness of the old productivity formula is not limited to Australia.

Approval from consumer expenditures worldwide

In many developed economies, official efficiency index numbers are closely related to consumer expenditures. This should not be a surprise, since the increasing profits of productivity flow to wages and household spending power. And the opposite. Denmark It exemplifies this well. See the table below.

The same parallel productivity follow -up as consumer expenditures open In the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Here is the Netherlands:

On the contrary, Australia has a strange correlation since the Covid-19 stagnation in 2020. See the table below.

Blue line is reliable indicator This closely follows the gray productivity index numbers in Historically in Australia and the most comparable economies. The difference that has been observed since 2020 further weakens the validity of the official number of productivity.

This opposite monitoring of productivity against consumer expenditures is also evident in Canada, Luxembourg, Ireland and elsewhere.

Help on the road

Fortunately, Treasurer Jim Chalmers He asked ABS to measure non -GDP outputs in the series Measure the important thing.

ABS also stated that he will publish the time forecasts in the non -market sector together with the market sector.

An reviewed productivity formula is essential. It will help to correct both econometric mistakes and media Menticity.

Alan Austin is an independent Australian columnist and free journalist. You can follow him on Twitter @Alanaustin001.

Support independent journalism subscribe to IA.

Related articles