Tag Archives: employment

Rising workforce participation reflects improved jobs market in Qld

I have been commenting on Queensland’s improving labour market for several months now, and the July labour force data released by the ABS yesterday have confirmed that trend is continuing. The State’s unemployment rate remained stable at 6.3 percent in … Continue reading

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Growing interstate migration to Qld reflects improving economy & relatively more affordable house prices

As well as releasing the first batch of 2016 Census data, the ABS also updated its quarterly population estimates yesterday, and I was very pleased to see net interstate migration to Queensland is picking up nicely (see chart below). This … Continue reading

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Qld’s lacklustre population and jobs growth have gone hand in hand over the current decade

Queensland’s population, now at around 4.9 million, increased 1.4% in the year to 30 September 2016, a growth rate slightly below the national growth rate of 1.5%, but significantly below Victoria’s stand-out growth rate of 2.1% (Chart 1 based on … Continue reading

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Comments in Courier-Mail on Qld regional economies and structural change

Today, the Courier-Mail is re-launching its GoQld campaign, this time with a focus on regional economies. It has rightly identified the large divergence in employment growth between SEQ and the rest of Queensland, and it is reporting a loss of … Continue reading

Posted in Labour market, Macroeconomy, Mining, North Queensland, Townsville, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Disappointing 2016 for Qld labour market

Yesterday, on the same day the December jobs figures released by the ABS confirmed a disappointing 2016 for the Queensland labour market (see charts below), the Deputy Premier announced the State Government’s new regional jobs program. Coincidental or not, the … Continue reading

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Victoria still beating Queensland in interstate migration & population growth

Since late 2012, Queensland has been losing people to Victoria, a reversal of the historically positive net flow of people from Victoria to Queensland (see chart below based on the latest ABS population estimates published Thursday last week). While the … Continue reading

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Why the Adani mega mine is welcome news in Townsville

It is welcome news to the local community that Adani will base its Carmichael coal mine headquarters in Townsville , which has struggled with job losses and high unemployment over the last couple of years. The Townsville Bulletin reports: “Townsville … Continue reading

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

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

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Gig economy and baby boomers easing into retirement would partly explain why jobs growth mostly part-time

The July labour force data released by the ABS yesterday were good news for Australia and Queensland, with the unemployment rate falling in seasonally adjusted terms for both Australia, from 5.8% to 5.7%, and for Queensland, from 6.4% to 6.1%. … Continue reading

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

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

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