Category Archives: Labour market

Disappointing vacancies data support Treasury’s very low employment growth forecast for 2012-13

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Gene Tunny

In the Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review 2012-13 released last month, Queensland Treasury revised down its forecast of 2012-13 employment growth from a weak 0.75% to a very weak 0.25%. The ABS job vacancies data released today lend support … Continue reading →

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Doubling of FIFO/DIDO workers in Surat Basin in 2012

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I just noticed that the Government Statistician/OESR released the 2012 Surat Basin Population Report yesterday and it shows a 97% increase in fly in-fly out (FIFO) and drive in-drive out (DIDO) workers in the Surat Basin between June 2011 and … Continue reading →

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Large disparity in unemployment rates across Brisbane suburbs

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Gene Tunny

An important policy debate in 2012 was around the level of unemployment benefits, with welfare groups such as ACOSS arguing people on Newstart could be too poor to look for work (as reported on news.com.au). I have some sympathy for … Continue reading →

Posted in Brisbane, Cairns, Labour market, Townsville | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mining has been only “pillar” generating jobs

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Queensland Investment Corporation CEO Damien Frawley made some astute observations on the outlook for Queensland’s economy, which were reported in the Courier-Mail this morning: THE resources boom will leave a lasting legacy for Queensland’s economy regardless of when it runs … Continue reading →

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

Unemployment rate may have peaked

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Gene Tunny

There is great news in the ABS Labour force data for November that were released today. Unemployment may have peaked and hopefully we won’t see a repeat of the awful September quarter National Accounts result for Queensland that we saw … Continue reading →

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More young women studying full-time due to sluggish labour market

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Katherine Feeney has an interesting article in the Brisbane Times today on the decline in labour force participation (i.e. working or actively looking for work) among young women in Brisbane since the financial crisis (Young women out of work): In … Continue reading →

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Pollies should be careful with jobs promises

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Former Premier Peter Beattie was fortunate that the mining boom came along and helped bring Queensland’s unemployment rate below the 5% he promised, but his successor Anna Bligh wasn’t so fortunate – the Queensland economy still hasn’t generated the 100,000 … Continue reading →

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40,000 jobs from Caloundra South development?

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The report in the Courier-Mail this morning Caloundra South Estate to bring 40,000 jobs to Sunshine Coast appears so over-the-top you know something must be wrong with it. Based on the public environment report Urbis has prepared for Stockland (the … Continue reading →

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Top ten occupations in sport and recreation

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Gene Tunny

The ABS released (or repackaged) some interesting 2011 Census data yesterday on employment in sport and recreation, showing the dominance of gyms and the significance of the heavily subsidised racing industry as an employer. John Quiggin wrote a great post … Continue reading →

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Temporary weakness due to public sector restraint continues

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Gene Tunny

Today’s ABS labour force data weren’t encouraging for Queensland, with the unemployment rate remaining significantly higher than the national average, as shown in this chart from OESR’s labour force brief: I remain of the view that Queensland’s higher unemployment rate … Continue reading →

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