Qlders work longer hours, but unproductive

Despite Queenslanders working the longest hours in the country, the state has one of the worst productivity levels, a jobs forum has heard.

Economist Saul Eslake says Queenslanders work about 0.8 hours a week longer than the national average, which is equivalent to an extra week a year and boosts the state economy by about $7 billion.

However, he says the state's per capita income is below the national average because Queensland's productivity rate is $6.10 per hour - about 8.5 per cent below the national average.

Mr Eslake told the Queensland Jobs Growth Summit in Brisbane that boosting productivity was a complex challenge for the state government, but looking at education was a start.

"I think improved levels of educational participation and attainment are the single biggest factor that can contribute, both to higher levels of employment participation and to higher levels of productivity," he said on Tuesday.

"And, in turn, higher levels of income."

Mr Eslake also said the state was less reliant on the struggling mining industry than often thought, given it only contributed to less than nine per cent of Queensland's economy - below the national average of almost 10 per cent.

He said Adani's $22 billion Carmichael coalmine, rail and port project wouldn't support many indirect jobs once construction was completed.

"There will be jobs in transporting the coal from where it's dug up to where it's exported, but typically those are much smaller in number than the ones associated with the construction phase," Mr Eslake said.

The Australia Institute executive director Ben Oquist, who chaired the jobs summit, said jobs figures for the Adani project had been "wildly exaggerated", with about 1400 direct and indirect jobs sustained on average each year during the life of the mine.

"Let's put that in perspective. In health care there are 300,000 jobs in Queensland and what we heard today is the jobs of the future will come in that services sector of the economy," Mr Oquist said.

Treasurer Curtis Pitt talked up the benefits the Carmichael mine will have on the state's economy, but agreed Queensland wasn't dependent on resources.

"Queensland has the most diverse economy of any state in Australia," he said.

Shadow Treasurer John-Paul Langbroek described most of those attending the summit as "a motley crew of lefties", insisting the event was unlikely to help solve the state's economic woes.