Tag Archives: unemployment

ABS funding cuts may have compromised macroeconomic management

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Given the huge revisions to recent labour force data published by the ABS data yesterday, it’s now clear that the ABS is suffering from the impacts of funding cuts in recent years (see this ABC news report), and this has … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

ABC radio interview on unemployment, the 4% target and the four pillars plan

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I was interviewed this morning by Steve Austin on 612 ABC Brisbane regarding yesterday’s unemployment figures, particularly what they mean for the Government’s four pillars plan and its 4% unemployment rate target: Jump in employment questioned I reiterated the point … Continue reading →

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4% unemployment rate target looking much less achievable now

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Gene Tunny

With Queensland’s unemployment rate at 6.7%, compared with 5.8% one year ago, debate has resumed over the Government’s pledge to reduce unemployment to 4% within two terms (see the Courier-Mail’s coverage). I’ve previously commented that, when the promise was made, … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour market | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Builders much more optimistic than current conditions would warrant

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Broadly speaking, humans are biased towards being optimistic, and the Master Builders Survey of Industry Conditions for June 2014 is a good example of the optimism bias. Builders across Queensland, and especially in the South-East, are much more optimistic about … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Macroeconomy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Speech to University of the Third Age Redlands on the Australian Economy

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Gene Tunny

This morning I addressed the University of the Third Age Redlands at the Donald Simpson Centre, Cleveland on the topic of The Australian Economy: Where we’ve come from, where we’re going. My prepared remarks are reproduced below. I varied the … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, IR, Labour market, Macroeconomy, Migration, Mining, Population, Tax, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Unemployment rate is partly a policy choice – cut regulation to create jobs

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Gene Tunny

Upon the retirement of Treasury Secretary Ted Evans in 2001, then Prime Minister John Howard noted: Ted…has been a leading contributor to public debate, particularly issues of structural reform, such as the functioning of the labour market. He highlighted the … Continue reading →

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Unemployment keeps rising as sub-trend growth continues

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Gene Tunny

According to ABS labour force data just released, Queensland’s unemployment rate is now 6.8% seasonally adjusted and 6.5% in trend terms (see chart below). In part, this must be related to the mining slowdown and the sub-trend economic growth we’ve … Continue reading →

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Sub-par growth to continue as mining investment falls and govts restrain spending

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Head of Economic Analysis, Dr Jonathan Kearns, gave an informative presentation this morning on current economic conditions at an Economic Society of Australia (Qld branch) breakfast at the Brisbane Polo Club. The outlook for at … 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 →

Posted in Budget, Labour market | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

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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