Productivity and unit labour costs — GDP per person employed in Australia
Australia: Productivity and unit labour costs — GDP per person employed was 97.74 Index in 2026. ▲ Rising
Productivity and unit labour costs — GDP per person employed in Australia, 1964–2026
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Index.
Analysis
In 2026, productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed in Australia stood at 97.74 Index.
That represents a change of down 6.1% on the previous year and down 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed in Australia peaked at 108.16 Index in 2021 and was at its lowest, 52.8 Index, in 1965.
Australia ranks 21st of 23 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Productivity and unit labour costs — GDP per person employed in Australia, year by year
| Year | Index | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 52.97 Index | — |
| 1965 | 52.8 Index | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 53.78 Index | +1.9% |
| 1967 | 56.05 Index | +4.2% |
| 1968 | 59.42 Index | +6.0% |
| 1969 | 59.68 Index | +0.4% |
| 1970 | 59.58 Index | -0.2% |
| 1971 | 61.73 Index | +3.6% |
| 1972 | 61.3 Index | -0.7% |
| 1973 | 63.26 Index | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 62.27 Index | -1.6% |
| 1975 | 62.84 Index | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 65.44 Index | +4.1% |
| 1977 | 64.93 Index | -0.8% |
| 1978 | 67.34 Index | +3.7% |
| 1979 | 68.36 Index | +1.5% |
| 1980 | 68.56 Index | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 70.6 Index | +3.0% |
| 1982 | 68.95 Index | -2.3% |
| 1983 | 71.71 Index | +4.0% |
| 1984 | 73.25 Index | +2.1% |
| 1985 | 72.86 Index | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 71.51 Index | -1.9% |
| 1987 | 74.02 Index | +3.5% |
| 1988 | 73.46 Index | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 73.01 Index | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 73.41 Index | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 73.58 Index | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 76.75 Index | +4.3% |
| 1993 | 78.55 Index | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 78.79 Index | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 79.82 Index | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 83.22 Index | +4.3% |
| 1997 | 85.24 Index | +2.4% |
| 1998 | 87.79 Index | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 88.19 Index | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 87.79 Index | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 90.87 Index | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 91.64 Index | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 94.33 Index | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 94.58 Index | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 94.79 Index | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 94.74 Index | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 95.62 Index | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 95.1 Index | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 96.76 Index | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 96.67 Index | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 98.96 Index | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 100.46 Index | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 102.56 Index | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 103.39 Index | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 103.03 Index | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 105.02 Index | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 103.92 Index | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 104.19 Index | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 104.68 Index | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 105.67 Index | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 108.16 Index | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 105.75 Index | -2.2% |
| 2023 | 103.75 Index | -1.9% |
| 2024 | 102.66 Index | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 104.05 Index | +1.4% |
| 2026 | 97.74 Index | -6.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 97.74 Index is below the median for high income countries, which is 103.38 Index, 95% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 55.78 Index | 52.8 Index | 59.68 Index | 6 |
| 1970s | 63.7 Index | 59.58 Index | 68.36 Index | 10 |
| 1980s | 71.79 Index | 68.56 Index | 74.02 Index | 10 |
| 1990s | 80.53 Index | 73.41 Index | 88.19 Index | 10 |
| 2000s | 93.62 Index | 87.79 Index | 96.76 Index | 10 |
| 2010s | 102.29 Index | 96.67 Index | 105.02 Index | 10 |
| 2020s | 103.97 Index | 97.74 Index | 108.16 Index | 7 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More economy & growth data for Australia
- Real gdp growth, annual growth rate 96.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.36 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.26 Percent per annum (2029)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 15.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0083 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 537.43 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 10.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 392.43 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 2.82 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed in Australia?
- Productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed in Australia was 97.74 Index in 2026, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 108.16 Index in 2021.
- What is the lowest productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 52.8 Index in 1965.
- How does Australia rank for productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed?
- Australia ranks 21st out of 23 countries with data for 2026.
- Is productivity and unit labour costs — gdp per person employed rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Productivity and unit labour costs — GDP per person employed. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The OECD Productivity Database aims at providing users with the most comprehensive and the latest productivity estimates. The update cycle is on a rolling basis: each variable in the dataset is made publicly available as soon as it is updated in the sources databases. The productivity database contains data on labour productivity both measured using employment or hours worked and the compenents of capital and labour inputs. The productivity database in levels, in growth rates and by industry contains annual data, while the database on productivity and unit labour costs are quarterly estimates. Further information for all datasets and the methodology may be found in the attached file OECD-Productivity-Statistics-Database-metadata