Quarterly productivity bulletin - March 2026

Deputy Chair Dr Alex Robson

Australia’s labour productivity growth continues to disappoint.

Labour productivity was flat in the December quarter and increased by 1.0% over the year to December 2025. While this is better news than this time last year, when labour productivity had decreased by 1.0% in the year to December 2024, this year’s growth means we are back where we were two years ago.

The non-market sector is of particular concern, with labour productivity falling by 0.7% in the December quarter and – after jumping around throughout the year – 0.7% lower than in December 2024. Market sector productivity has been stronger, growing by 0.3% in the December quarter and 1.5% over the 12 months to December 2025.

All of this sits well below long-term average growth, and the particularly strong productivity growth Australia enjoyed through the 1990s and early 2000s.

In this bulletin’s feature article, we take a walk down memory lane to remind ourselves of some of Australia’s most successful reforms, and the role they played in improving productivity growth. It’s a reminder for policymakers of the effect that good policy can have on productivity.

Australia needs a growth mindset, elevating economic growth and its benefits in policy decisions. In December 2025, the PC released five reports that show what that would look like. The reports highlight three reform principles to guide policymakers, and 47 specific recommendations to help governments take the first steps.

The PC’s roadmap is by no means exhaustive, but it gives government a good place to start.

Media requests

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Quarterly productivity bulletin – March 2026

• Labour productivity update
• Update from Alex Robson
• Restarting our growth engine: productivity and the policies that matter
• Copyright and publication detail

Appendix: Supporting evidence

• A primer on productivity
• Detailed productivity statistics
• Productivity data revisions