Australia's collapse in productivity has accounted for more than half of the past decade's slowdown in wages growth as companies led by the mining and finance sector grab a growing share of national income.

With the Morrison government under pressure to implement a policy program to boost the economy, analysis released on Monday by the Productivity Commission shows only a surge in prices for key commodities has enabled wages to outpace productivity growth but that is now coming to an end.

Labour productivity, which measures output compared to hours worked, fell by 0.2 per cent through 2018-19. It was short of the 0.9 per cent average of the past five years and well below the 2 per cent average annual growth since the mid-1970s.

New LNG projects such as Chevron's Wheatstone venture in WA have started lifting productivity growth in the resources sector. But across the economy, productivity is going backward.

Multifactor productivity, which takes into account the economic boost provided by technology, fell by 0.4 per cent through the same year. The average annual growth between the mid-1970s and 2018-19 was 0.8 per cent.