COVID cuts billions of dollars and work hours

Working Australians, on average, lost 167 hours of work worth more than $5,000 each and $47 billion to the economy from the start of March to the end of October due to COVID-19, new research shows. Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have tallied the total loss in working hours and productivity cost for the first time. The analysis is based on their longitudinal study running since February and before the spread of COVID-19 in Australia. Study co-lead, Professor Nicholas Biddle, said the total number of average hours worked by individuals between February and October was 692. "That's down from an expected 760 hours if everyone kept on working at their February levels," Professor Biddle said. The lost work hours were also pricey - with many Australians foregoing vital potential income. The researchers say some of that income would have been paid to the individuals through JobKeeper, but the loss of production is still lost to the economy as a whole.