5260.0.55.001 - Information paper: Experimental Estimates of Industry Multifactor Productivity, 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/09/2007  First Issue
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Contents >> Retail trade >> Labour inputs

LABOUR INPUTS

Figure 9.2 shows the movements in total hours worked for the Retail industry between 1985-86 and 2005-06. Average annual growth for this period was 1.7% per year.


The figure shows significant increases in total hours worked in 1994-95, 1999-00 and 2003-04. The biggest increase in hours worked occurring in 1994-95 where growth was 8.1%. This increase was driven by increases in both full-time (7%) and part-time (5.9%) employment (figure 9.3). In addition average weekly hours worked increased 1.4% in 1994-95. To some extent this increase may have been driven by the deregulation of shopping hours in some of the bigger eastern states, particularly in the early 1990s. Other evidence that supports this is that the big increases occurred in the Food retailing and Personal and household goods segments of the industry.


Figure 9.3 also shows a shift in employment patterns from full-time to part-time work. Part-time employment increased from 30% of total employment in 1985-86 to almost 50% in 2005-06, with part-time employment growing by 4.3% per year for the last two decades (figure 9.3). This shift to part-time employment has also meant average weekly hours have tended to fall over this period, from 34.4 hours per week in 1985-86 to 29.9 hours per week in 2005-06.

9.3 Retail employment
Graph: 9.3 Retail employment



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