New Zealanders could be working harder at their job, newly released figures show.
According to Stats NZ, labour productivity rose 2.2 percent in the year ended March 2022. The rise was the largest growth in the measure since 2010 and follows flat labour productivity in the year ended in March 2021.
These movements should be considered in the context of the different COVID-19 prevention measures that affected both years ended March 2021 and March 2022, Stats NZ noted.
"The rise in labour productivity reflects output increasing at a greater rate than labour inputs over the March 2022 year," Stats NZ national accounts industry and production senior manager Ruvani Ratnayake said in a statement.
Labour productivity measures the quantity of goods and services (output) produced per hour of labour.
Stats NZ also saw a rise in multifactor productivity, which rose 1.2 percent. Multifactor productivity captures the effects of unobserved inputs such as technological progress, efficiency gains, and economies of scale.
It comes amidst a tight labour market with unemployment in New Zealand sitting low at 3.4 percent while job advertisements continue to rise.
Newshub.
