Productivity dropped in Australian construction over the past 20 years as the number of professionals employed in the industry surged, outstripping growth in tradespeople and labourers.
“In 2003, professional workers accounted for 28 per cent of the construction workforce. By 2023, this had risen to 38 per cent.” For workers on the ground, the picture was positive. Over the 20-year period, the number of trade and labour employees rose 40 per cent from 630,000 to 883,600 and the value of annual output per worker jumped 33 per cent to $291,700 from $219,300.
Measuring productivity in white-collar, service-based industries was difficult, but the RLB figures showed a “pretty stark” difference in output by worker group, Dr Wright said. “Since 2013, there has been a 26.5 per cent increase in the number of workers within the construction workforce,” Mr Schiafone said.