By JAMES MUYANWA –

ZAMBIA’s formal sector productivity reduced by three per cent per year between 2008 and 2012, a research by the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) has shown.
The study result shows that productivity – the amount of output per worker – fell by an average of three per cent a year in the formal sector during that period.
Across the economy, however, the result shows that productivity increased by 4.6 per cent a year, due to improvement in the informal sector.
According to a statement, ZIPAR senior researcher, Shebo Nalioshebo, will present the full report at the High Level Stakeholder Dialogue Event – Zambia’s Way Forward: Job Creation to Promote Inclusive Growth – which will be jointly organised by the Zambian Government and the Cooperating Partners Group.
Many high-profiled speakers including Finance minister Alexander Chikwanda have been lined up.
Between 2008 and 2012, productivity in the informal sector increased by 5.4 per cent a year although from a low base.
Boosts in productivity in the informal sector still mask significant differences and  Mr Nalishebo will show that informal sector firms produced eight times less output for each worker-hour than formal sector firms.
In terms of sector performance, mining experienced the highest productivity gains between with output per worker-hour having
increased by 15.4 per cent a year.
The informal sector beat the formal sector in mining by 2.5 times while in contrast, the construction industry had the highest decline in productivity in both the informal and formal sectors of 12.9 per cent, despite substantial investments.
Other industries which showed large decreases in productivity include wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles and manufacturing.
Agriculture showed an increase of 9.8 per cent a year with the informal agriculture productivity growth having been higher than
formal agriculture’s.
Other industries which recorded growth in productivity include transport and storage, financial and insurance activities, arts,
entertainment and recreation.
Commenting on the report Mr Nalishebo said to maximise future economic growth in Zambia there was need to better understand the productivity puzzles, including how they affect different sectors of our economy.
“This study gives us a fresh perspective on the Zambian growth story, especially that the data are broken down between the formal and informal economy.
“Understanding how to improve productivity is important because it will help Zambia’s economy continue to grow.  Our new analysis has identified some productivity puzzles. Levels of output per worker in the formal sector of our economy actually fell between 2008 and 2012,” he said.