The financial services sector demonstrates above average (and even leading) growth in productivity measures in Australia, though for the economy overall the indicators are poor and policy makers are starting to show alarm at the trends.The specific measure published by the ABS on Friday was the "gross value added based multifactor productivity index" and is described by the statistical agency as an experimental estimate.Productivity in financial services fell by 1.8 per cent in the 2008/09 financial year, which was also a recession year, the ABS data shows.The productivity measures for 12 selected industries fell 2.7 per cent over the year. Only two industries, agriculture, forestry and fishing; and also retail, showed any increase in productivity, according to the ABS.Labour hoarding over the last year is the most obvious reason for the decline in productivity more broadly over the last year, though in some sectors - and, notably, in the lionised mining sector - productivity has gone backwards, markedly, throughout the 2000s.Over a longer time frame the financial services sector appears to be one of the more productive in the economy, something that cannot be said for the wider Australian economy.Over five years the financial services sector improved its productivity by eight per cent; over ten years by 15 per cent and over 20 years by 56 per cent.For the wider economy, productivity actually declined by more than three per cent over five years; improved by only two per cent over 10 years and improved by 19 per cent over 20 years.