Author: roymorgansocial

Wesfarmers warns on wages, jobs

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Original article by John Kehoe, Carrie LaFrenz, James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-May-23

Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy has told a Senate estimates hearing that there are no signs that a wage-price spiral is emerging in Australia. He added that it is usual for wages growth to accelerate during an upswing in the economic cycle. Meanwhile, Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott has warned that increasing the minimum wage by more than five per cent would deter businesses from investing and taking on additional staff. He adds that other risks to the economy include the federal government’s second tranche of industrial relations reforms and the Victorian government’s payroll tax changes. The Fair Work Commission is slated to announce its decision on the minimum wage increase on Friday.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES

New overemployment trend sees Aussies earning double

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Original article by Bek Day
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 31-May-23

The shift to working from home during the pandemic has resulted in strong growth in ‘overemployment’ in Australia, whereby people are working two or more full-time jobs – often at the same time and without their employer finding out. A 2022 report from human resources software company Employment Hero found that 51 per cent of knowledge workers in Australia have a secondary income stream. A spokesman for Employment Hero says overemployment is much more common in fully remote roles and task-based jobs such as software development and computer programming.

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EMPLOYMENT HERO

Why Australians are paying 50% more for air fares than pre-pandemic even as jet fuel costs drop

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett, Elias Visontay
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 31-May-23

Data from the International Air Transport Association shows that the price of aviation fuel has halved since peaking in mid-2022, and it is now priced at around the levels at which many airlines operated profitably in 2018. However, data from flight search company Kayak shows that this is not being reflected in the price of airfares in Australia. The average domestic airfare is now about 10 per cent higher than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the average international airfare is more than 50 per cent higher. Nick Schroeder from IBISWorld expects the price of international airfares to start falling in the second half of 2023, adding that they could potentially fall to around pre-pandemic levels within 18-24 months.

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INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION, KAYAK, IBISWORLD PTY LTD

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down 1.1pts to 76.2 – back to the level of two weeks ago in early May

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 31-May-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 1.1pts to 76.2 in the week to 28 May. Consumer Confidence has now spent 13 straight weeks below the mark of 80, the longest stretch below 80 since the index began being conducted on a weekly rather than a monthly basis in October 2008. Consumer Confidence is now 14.5pts below the same week a year ago (90.7), and 3.8pts below the 2023 weekly average of 80.0. Consumer Confidence reversed last week’s results and was down in Victoria, Queensland, WA and SA, but up in NSW. Now 18% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 53% (up 4ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Some 29% (down 1ppt) of Australians now expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 35% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 7% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 40% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 19% (up 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 54% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

New Zealand: National/Act NZ on 45% are just ahead of Labour/Greens on 43% in May; but neither is set for a majority

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 31-May-23

The latest Roy Morgan New Zealand Poll shows that support for the Labour/Greens coalition government rose 1% points to 43% in May. Support for Labour was up 1% to 31%, while support for the Greens was unchanged at 12%. Support for the National Party was down 0.5% points to 31.5% (its lowest level of support since December 2021), while support for Act NZ was up 1% point to 13.5%. Support for a right-leaning potential National/Act NZ coalition rose 0.5% points to 45%. The results for May continue to show that the New Zealand Election later in 2023 is on a knife-edge, with the crossbench set to determine who will form the next Government. This New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 952 electors during May. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating was unchanged at 80 in May, equal to its lowest level since former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern resigned in January.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND

Shrinking pipeline for attached homes hits hard

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 31-May-23

The latest official building approvals data highlights the growing supply crisis in Australia’s housing market. The figure show that just 3,545 new apartments, townhouses and semi-detached homes were approved in April, which is the lowest level since January 2012. Approvals for detached homes fell by 3.6 per cent month-on-month to 8,049. A total of 11,594 dwellings of all types were approved in April, which is an 11-year low. Maree Kilroy of Oxford Economics Australia says a sharp downturn is under way and the firm does not expect dwelling approvals to rebound until late 2024.

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OXFORD ECONOMICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Pandemic sees influx of investors

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Original article by Lucy Dean
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 31-May-23

The ASX’s latest investor survey shows that 51 per cent of Australian adults now hold investments outside of superannuation or the family home. This compares with 46 per cent in early 2020, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The report shows that more than 1.2 million Australians have started to invest in shares since the pandemic began; the ASX’s Rory Cunningham says women account for 50 per cent of the new investors, and 50 per cent of people who intend to invest. However, Irene Guiamatsia from Investment Trends notes that the overall proportion of investors who are women has remained steady at 42 per cent since 2020; she says this is primarily because women tend to have lower income than men.

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ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD

New IR laws won’t hurt tradies, minister vows

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-May-23

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has emphasised that tradespersons and subcontractors in the construction industry will not be significantly affected by the federal government’s second tranche of industrial relations reforms. Burke says the new minimum standards for ’employee-like’ independent contractors will apply only to gig economy workers. His comments have been welcomed by Master Builders Australia’s acting CEO Shaun Schmitke; however, he says the government should make it explicitly clear that the legislation will be limited to gig-economy workers and provide an undertaking to exclude other industries before the legislation is introduced.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Netflix password crackdown finally hits Australia, two months later than planned

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Original article by Karl Quinn
The Age – Page: Online : 25-May-23

Streaming video giant Netflix has belatedly commenced enforcing its policy on password-sharing in Australia. Netflix had been slated to begin the local crackdown in March, after introducing the new policy in countries such as New Zealand in February. Netflix will offer a number of options for people who have previously shared their password with friends and family in other households; these include taking out a new subscription for a ‘freeloader’ or adding a non-household member to an existing account for an additional fee. Netflix has estimated that about 100 million people access its service using a shared password.

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NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Land tax changes won’t drive up rents: Andrews

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Original article by Broede Carmody, Rachel Eddie, Jim Malo
The Age – Page: Online : 25-May-23

The Victorian government continues to attract scrutiny over the Covid debt reduction measures in its 23 May budget, which include a land tax on residential investment properties. Premier Daniel Andrews contends that landlords will not seek to recoup the cost of the new tax by increasing their rent charges, although the Centre for Independent Studies’ chief economist Peter Tulip argues that many landlords have relatively thin margins and will need to increase their rents. Treasurer Tim Pallas has indicated that the state government may consider options such as capping rent increases, although he has ruled out a rent freeze. Family homes will be exempt from the land tax.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED