Monthly Archives: January 2013

Growing list of impacts and costs of big wet

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Gene Tunny

One economic impact I failed to explicitly mention in my post yesterday on the economic impact of the big wet is the impact on the sugarcane crop, which may be very signficant, as reported in the Courier-Mail this morning: Yesterday, … Continue reading →

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Economic impact of the Big Wet in Queensland

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The heavy rain, winds and floods that have resulted from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald have caused a large amount of human suffering and will have an adverse short-term impact on Queensland’s economy. I expect the adverse short-term impacts will arise mainly as … Continue reading →

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People marginally attached to the labour force behind participation rate movements

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Gene Tunny

In the early 2000s, when Queensland’s unemployment rate seemed permanently stuck around 1-2 percentage points above the national average, it was common for Premier Beattie and Employment Minister Braddy to note that our relatively higher participation rate placed us at … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Brisbane metro labour market in bad shape

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Gene Tunny

According to ABS regional labour force data, the latest batch of which was released today, the rise in Queensland’s unemployment rate over 2012 was driven by a weakening labour market in the Brisbane metro area – a deterioration which was … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Weird OECD create your own economy competition

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Gene Tunny

In principle, I think it’s a good idea that the OECD is reaching out to young people to get them interested in economic policy issues, but this video competition strikes me as weird: Think differently: How would you shape tomorrow’s … Continue reading →

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Qld’s sluggish labour market persists – unemployment at 6.2% (compared with 5.4% nationally)

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland unemployment rate was recorded at 6.2% (seasonally adjusted) in December 2012, up slightly from 6.1% in the previous month. The number of unemployed persons has increased to nearly 154,000, compared with 130,000 twelve months previously. The result is … Continue reading →

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Townsville Super Stadium-land sales link would only be indirect

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Rugby league has a massive following in Townsville, and I remember there was a betting comp on the Winfield Cup among students at Kirwan High in the late eighties, back when the Broncos were the only Queensland team in the … Continue reading →

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Debt ceiling is an important constraint on government expenditure

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I’m somewhat surprised that the Economist in its latest issue argues the US debt ceiling “serves no useful purpose and should be abolished” (From cliff to ceiling). A debt ceiling is important because it forces the Government to consider the aggregate … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Awful September qtr tourism data for Whitsundays, Fraser Coast and Sunshine Coast

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The ABS released its September quarter 2012 small area data for tourism accommodation today, and it shows the Whitsundays, Fraser Coast and Sunshine Coast had a really bad quarter (see map below). This is not to say other regions performed … Continue reading →

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Qld building industry recovery postponed

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Gene Tunny

In a post last month I observed that of the so-called four pillars of the Queensland economy – agriculture, construction, resources and tourism –  the resources sector has been the only one with employment growth in recent years. Unfortunately, new … Continue reading →

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