Tag Archives: unemployment

Very high youth unemployment in North Qld and Wide Bay region

Young people, many of who may be trying to enter the workforce for the first time, are usually disproportionately affected when the economy slows down. Relatively weak conditions in regional Queensland, which I discussed in my last post, have contributed … Continue reading

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Queenslanders leaving for professional jobs in Victoria

For over two years now, Queensland has been a net loser of people to Victoria, as the historically reliable net migration of people from Victoria to Queensland has reversed (first chart below). The conditions for mass migration out of Victoria … Continue reading

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Qld bouncing back nicely after technical recession in 2014

The ABS labour force data for May give me much greater confidence that Queensland is bouncing back nicely from the technical recession we experienced over much of 2014 due to the end of the mining boom (see chart above). Queensland’s … Continue reading

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End of the mining boom – speech notes and slides

In Brisbane today, in the theatre of Morgans Financial Limited, along with Griffith’s Tony Makin and Morgans’ Michael Knox, I spoke on “The end of the mining boom”, at an event organised by Griffith’s APEC Study Centre. My slides are … Continue reading

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Health & aged care will drive jobs growth in coming years

The March labour force data released yesterday by the ABS show the Queensland unemployment rate has stabilised at around 6.5%, which, while relatively high (see chart above), is not too bad from a historical perspective, as I’ve noted before (Don’t … Continue reading

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Upcoming panel discussion – End of the mining boom: What’s next?

It’s clear the mining downturn is having significant adverse effects, such as large increases in unemployment in regions that are more dependent on mining, such as the Mackay and Fitzroy regions (see chart above, and also see the Courier-Mail report … Continue reading

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Addressing youth unemployment requires reform of workplace relations policies

Youth unemployment has re-emerged as a significant problem in recent years (see chart above), partly as a result of the general economic sluggishness since the financial crisis. Also, Australia’s inflexible workplace relations regulations are likely playing a role, and youth … Continue reading

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One-in-four part-time workers underemployed

Queensland’s relatively weak labour market is reflected not only in the unemployment rate of 6.5%, but in a relatively high rate of underemployment, with around one-in-four part-time workers in Queensland underemployed (i.e. preferring to work more hours than they actually … Continue reading

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Unemployment much higher in North Qld, Wide Bay, Ipswich and outer Brisbane metro area

The regional dimension to Queensland unemployment is readily apparent from the following unemployment rate maps I’ve produced based on Queensland Treasury’s handy information brief on regional unemployment. Here’s the map for the whole State: My old home town of Townsville … Continue reading

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Don’t panic about unemployment just yet – still below long-run average

I’ve noticed the Courier-Mail is reporting the incoming Government has “been handed a massive headache with new figures showing unemployment rising and Queenslanders dropping out of the job market.” However, yesterday’s figures simply confirmed the labour market has been lacklustre … Continue reading

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