Category Archives: Labour market

Continuing rebound in Qld private sector job vacancies at end of 2016

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Gene Tunny

There was good news for the Queensland economy yesterday, with the ABS reporting a continuation of the rebound in private sector job vacancies in the final quarter of last year (see chart below). Private sector job vacancies have increased from … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Housing, Labour market, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

PC ennui?

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Based on its discussion paper for its five year productivity review, the Productivity Commission appears to be suffering from ennui or world weariness. Consider this passage, which the PC has published in bold italics (on p. 17): “The Commission is … Continue reading →

Posted in IR, Labour market, Productivity, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

ABC Regional Drive interview – dubious jobs data another sign ABS is struggling under a tight budget

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Gene Tunny

In its September labour force report, which reported the Australian unemployment rate fell to 5.6% from 5.7% while employment fell by 9,800 (and full-time employment fell 53,000!), contrary to the jobs growth the market was expecting, the ABS more or … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Qld should benefit from strong economic performance in NSW and Victoria

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The August job vacancies data released by the ABS yesterday confirm the strong economic performance we are seeing in NSW and Victoria, and they also show encouraging signs for Queensland (see charts below). Given national markets and the linkages between … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, North Queensland, Townsville, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Treasury dumps wellbeing framework & defines principal objectives around Budget, productivity and globalisation

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Of the many outstanding contributions that former Treasury Secretary Ken Henry made to public policy in Australia, one of my favourites was the wellbeing framework. This framework established Treasury’s goal as improving the wellbeing of Australians, and identified five elements … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Labour market, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

No substitute for experience

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Gene Tunny

There is a very interesting story at the Huffington Post titled 15 Photos Show You Can Be Awesome At Your Job, No Matter Your Age. That this is the case should not be surprising. Winston Churchill’s finest years, for example, … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Were 80% of new Qld jobs in 2015-16 public service jobs?

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The Courier-Mail is correct to highlight the large increase in public service employment that has occurred recently in Queensland, and it is on the right track in suggesting public service jobs are a large share of new jobs created, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Recommended reading: Matchmakers

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Gene Tunny

It was reported in yesterday’s Sunday-Mail (24 July, p. 21) that “Baby boomers are increasingly turning to Uber, Airbnb and eBay to boost their retirement income because of stockmarket falls and minuscule bank interest rates.” That is, they are participating … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Transport, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Townsville’s double digit unemployment rate signifies major downturn in region

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday afternoon I had a good chat with Pat Hession on Townsville ABC Radio about the latest discouraging unemployment data for my old home town of Townsville. Readers will be familiar with the vastly different economic conditions across Queensland (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Townsville, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

HILDA reveals very wealthy Canberra households, while Queenslanders much less wealthy

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Gene Tunny

The relatively high salaries of Canberra public servants are allowing them to build up healthy asset portfolios, while average Queenslanders are much less wealthy, according to the University of Melbourne’s Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Australia Survey, the latest report … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Labour market, Macroeconomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments