Tag Archives: labourforce

Teenagers have had tough time in labour market since financial crisis

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Gene Tunny

A creative reader and former colleague of mine, who goes by the nickname Toad, today sent me an interesting chart, presented below, that he has prepared on teenage labour force data for Queensland (you may need to open it in another … Continue reading →

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Failure of Strong Choices now obvious – missed chance to persuade on asset sales

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Government should have directly made the case for asset sales, rather than hoping people would conclude they’re necessary after playing the choose-your-own-budget game on the Strong Choices website, a point I’ve made a few times over the last few weeks (see … Continue reading →

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Recent vacancies data suggest we shouldn’t get too excited about jobs market just yet

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Tomorrow’s release of April labour force data from the ABS will hopefully confirm a recovery in the job market in Queensland, continuing the positive trend from last month (see my post from last month: Qld unemployment rate falls slightly to … Continue reading →

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Higher incidence of long-term unemployment in outer metro areas, Qld outback and Wide Bay

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Around one-in-five of the 150,000 or so unemployed people in Queensland have been out of work for one year or more, corresponding to around 30,000 people, according to ABS labour force data. There is considerable variation in the incidence of … Continue reading →

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Qld unemployment rate falls slightly to 6.1% – rising participation a good sign

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The March labour force data released today by the ABS, showing the unemployment rate falling to 5.8% from 6.1% in February, were good news for the Australian economy, as reflected in the dollar surging and one prominent commentator forecasting an … Continue reading →

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Something for the optimists in today’s labour force data

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Gene Tunny

My friend and former Treasury colleague Joe Branigan has found some good news for Queensland in today’s new labour force data. Earlier today, Joe tweeted an interesting chart (see below), showing Queensland has led Australia in the growth of hours … Continue reading →

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Is employment a lagging indicator of the economy?

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Gene Tunny

A tendency has developed among commentators to dismiss the relevance of discouraging employment data, based on the view that the labour market is a lagging indicator of the economy (e.g., a recent post by a prominent Australian economic commentator: Crappy … Continue reading →

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Sorry to tell you, QTC, but the labour market is not a lagging indicator

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I’m glad Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) remains optimistic about the economic outlook, even after last week’s discouraging labour force data, but I’m afraid one reason behind its optimism is unfounded. In its Weekly Market and Economics Review sent out via … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Removing second-hand car import restrictions could significantly lower car prices

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I was happy to learn from a former Canberra colleague yesterday that I’m cited in the Productivity Commission’s January 2014 Position Paper on the car industry, regarding the benefits that would come from removing the restriction on second-hand car imports. … Continue reading →

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Signs are good, but Qld economy not roaring back yet

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Paul Syvret in the Courier-Mail today has a good summary of recent positive economic news for Queensland (Queensland economy recovers from GFC with new jobless low of 5.6pc), but I think some of the commentators he interviewed are getting a … Continue reading →

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