The economic recession has taken its toll on the productivity of New Zealand's workforce.
New figures from Statistics New Zealand show labour force productivity dropped by 1.5% in the year to March 2009, due to a drop in output of 2.2%.
Jude Hughes, of Statistics New Zealand, says there was a large fall in the amount of goods and services produced, but companies were slow to let workers go and productivity fell as a result.
The statistics show the country's overall output dropped by just over 2%, while workforce hours dropped by just under 1%.
The fall has not badly affected New Zealand's long-term productivity trend but Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive Charles Finney says rates are too low, and must improve significantly to boost economic growth.
