Category Archives: Labour market

Resources boom forces rethink on immigration policy

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The resources boom may force Australia to take in even greater numbers of skilled temporary migrants, and possibly at lower skill levels (and for shorter durations) than those migrants who currently come in on 457 visas for up to four … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Migration, Mining | Leave a comment

Qld unemployment rate increases to 6.2% – due to surge in labour force participation

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Gene Tunny

There is no point worrying too much about monthly movements in the labour force data, as several months of data are usually necessary to identify clear trends, as I noted in my previous post Media over-reacts to jobs data. Hence, … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy | Leave a comment

Qld economy will easily hit Bligh’s 100,000 new jobs target

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Given the massive amount of resources sector investment in the pipeline, I have no doubt the Queensland economy will rebound strongly and prove wrong pessimistic stories such as this one: Anna Bligh’s target of 100,000 new jobs in jeopardy amid … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Queensland Government, Queensland Rail | 1 Comment

CEOs get bonuses for showing up

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Australian CEOs would agree with Woody Allen’s maxim that “80% of success is showing up.” A new report from the Australian Council of Super Investors (CEO Pay in the Top 100 Companies) notes (p. 11): The lack of correlation between … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | 2 Comments

Buy local policy would be costly in the long-term

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Gene Tunny

With the two-speed (a.k.a. patchwork) economy driven by the resources boom – and associated high exchange rate – Australia was always going to see more job losses in manufacturing, such as the 1,000 jobs lost at BlueScope Steel. The Government … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Mining | Leave a comment

Far North labour market steadily improving, Wide Bay-Burnett getting worse

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Here’s a chart of the 12 month moving averages of unemployment rates in the Queensland regions that are most under pressure due to the high exchange rate: This is based on today’s detailed labour force data release from the ABS.

Posted in Cairns, Labour market, Wide Bay-Burnett | Leave a comment

Qld Treasury still expects jobs rebound

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Gene Tunny

While the weak labour force data released on Thursday were a bit of a surprise, I remain confident the Queensland economy will pick up considerably over the next year, and I broadly agree with Queensland Treasury’s assessment here (Labour Force: … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy | Leave a comment

20% of Queensland youth not fully engaged (i.e. in full-time work or study)

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The slowdown in Queensland’s economy since the financial crisis has disproportionately affected young people (aged 15-19), many of whom are obviously waiting for the good times to return rather than go to TAFE or university. The chart below is from … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Labour market, Macroeconomy | Leave a comment

Media over-reacts to jobs data

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Media reports such as “Robust jobs growth in June shows economy in ‘reasonable health’” that are based on monthly movements in the ABS Labour Force Survey employment estimates are often meaningless. This is clear from the wide confidence intervals surrounding monthly … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy | 2 Comments

Are you working too hard? Are you sure?

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The ABS’s annual Australian Social Trends report released today contains an interesting article on overemployment, which notes: Between April and July 2007, the ABS surveyed Australian workers aged 15 years and older about their employment arrangements. At that time, around … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | 1 Comment