The Federal Government today released data on Australia's productivity and job market.
The government data followed the release of Australia's latest job figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) which said unemployment remains low at 5.5 per cent.
Seasonally adjusted employment continued to expand in May, increasing by 1100, to stand at a record high of 11,663,300.
Seasonally adjusted part-time employment increased by 6400 in May 2013, to stand at 3,509,600, while full-time employment decreased by 5300 to 8,153,600.
The unemployment rate in Australia decreased from a revised 5.6 per cent in April to 5.5 per cent in May.
Labour force participation also declined marginally, by 0.1 percentage points to stand at 65.2 per cent.
The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, welcomed the result adding that around 480 jobs per day have been created since Labor was elected in 2007.
Shorten described it as particularly impressive when the rest of the world is still struggling with the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
He said the Australian economy is going through a major transition.
"The resources boom is shifting from unprecedented growth in investment towards strong growth in production and exports, and more broadly the economy is shifting towards non-mining sources of growth, supported by record low interest rates," Shorten said.
"This transition has been made harder by the competitive pressures from the high Australian dollar, although the dollar's recent depreciation will help support activity in trade-exposed industries if sustained."
Chairman of the Productivity Commission, Peter Harris, released the first issue of the PC Productivity Update describing it as a "readable guide" to Australia's productivity performance.
"The Commission intends to provide more accessible and up to date reference material in this form in future, and in doing so to provide some explanations for trends," he said.
"Productivity growth requires that impediments to innovation, technological improvement and reorganisation of production are continuously reviewed and removed.
"This is how, over the medium term, we best cope with structural changes such as rapid exchange rate movements, our ageing population and potential global economic shocks.'
Australia's productivity growth has been poor over the past decade, and the Productivity Update identifies the key influences behind the slowdown.
Some influences cited in the Update that are dragging down productivity are temporary, such as expansions in mining and utilities that have seen capital expenditure run ahead of production; and drought.
But the overall picture is one of the need for ongoing reform of the micro economy.
"Productivity improvement, if not continuously pursued, raises the risk profile of the economy," Harris said.
Future editions of the PC Productivity Update will come out in the March quarter of each year. Each edition will unpack the latest ABS productivity estimates and report on the findings of the Commission's most recent productivity research.
Harris said that it is important to regularly examine Australia's productivity performance.
'There needs to be an informed public debate and policy discussion. Accordingly, the target audience for the Update is wide ranging, including policy practitioners and advisers, businesses, lobby groups, researchers and, importantly, the interested public," he said.