Labor gets to work on jobs plan

September 20, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Sep-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers say the federal government’s employment white paper will outline Labor’s vision for a more "dynamic and inclusive labour market". The white paper to be released on Monday will outline five key objectives, including sustained full employment, productivity growth and sustainable wage growth. The ACTU used its submission to the white paper to call for a target of zero involuntary unemployment. The terms of reference for the employment white paper were released following the jobs and skills summit in 2022.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, ACTU

RBA warns job market may be about to sour

August 16, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Read, Tess Bennett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 16-Aug-23

The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board meeting for August show that it considered increasing the cash rate to 4.35 per cent. However, indications that the jobs market may at a "turning point" are among the reasons why the board opted for a second successive monthly pause. The RBA cited factors such as a small rise in the official underemployment rate, a fall in hiring intentions and improved labour availability as signs that the jobs boom may be coming to an end. Meanwhile, economists say weaker-than-expected wages growth will strengthen the case for the cash rate to remain on hold for an extended period.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Labor mulls IR relief amid employer fury

July 26, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan, Glen Norris
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-Jul-23

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has indicated that the federal government may be open to exempting small businesses from its plans to allow casual workers to switch to permanent employment after six months in a job. Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has expressed concern about the potential impact of the casual labour reforms on small businesses, noting that many are already struggling in the wake of the pandemic, natural disasters and the cost-of-living crisis. Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey contends that the proposed reforms do not make sense, as businesses may offset their increased costs by downsizing their workforce. He adds that most of the retailer’s casual staff prefer the increased flexibility compared with permanent employment.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

Casual employment at 10-year low

July 17, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Jul-23

The Australian Industry Group has released a report which shows that the proportion of casual employees in the workforce has fallen to a decade-low of just 22.1 per cent. The Ai Group says the report refutes the union movement’s claim that the Australian workforce is becoming increasingly casualised, noting that the proportion of casual workers had remained relatively steady at between 23.5 per cent and 25.5 per cent in the years immediately prior to the pandemic. The report also notes that casual work is skewed toward younger Australians.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Australian unemployment jumped to 10.3% in June – the highest since January 2023 (10.7%)

July 3, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jul-23

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that the number of Australians who are unemployed rose by 314,000 to 1,572,000 (10.3% of the workforce) in June. However, underemployment fell 50,000 to 1,415,000 (9.3% of the workforce, down 0.5% points). A total of 2.99 million Australians (19.6% of the workforce) were unemployed or underemployed in June, up by 264,000 from May. Meanwhile, employment fell by 72,000 to 13,635,000 in June. The drop was due to a fall in part-time employment (down 167,000 to 4,697,000), while full-time employment was up 94,000 to 8,937,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 10.3% for June is almost triple the ABS estimate of 3.6% for May and is closer to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 10.0%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Real unemployment in June up 1.9% to 10.3%

June 28, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jun-23

In June Roy Morgan shows ‘real unemployment’ jumped 1.9% to 10.3% – reversing a series of recent drops. This is the highest ‘real unemployment’ has been since January. In contrast, under-employment was down by 0.5% to 9.3% with fewer people employed part-time in June. Overall though this mean a large rise in combined unemployment and under-employment, up 1.4% to 19.6% of the workforce (2.99 million Australians) – again, this was the highest combined figure since January. These monthly movements take place within the broader context of longer-term trends in the Australian workforce – the total number of people employed or looking for work. The Australian workforce has grown rapidly over the last year. The annual increase in the working aged Australian population hit a record in the year to June 2023 – up by 632,000 to 21.9 million. This surge in the population helped drive the workforce up by 715,000 to over 15.2 million – the second largest annual increase on record. These large increases mean that employment growth has continued over the last year, despite the falls we see in the month of June.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Australian unemployment drops to 8.4% in May – the lowest since September 2022 (8.1%)

June 6, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Jun-23

In May unemployment dropped 0.1% points to 8.4%, according to the latest Roy Morgan employment series data – the fourth straight monthly drop. Unemployment is now at its lowest since COVID-19 restrictions lifted in late 2022. However, there was a rise in under-employment in May, up 0.9% points to 9.8%, to its highest level this year. The rise in under-employment came as part-time employment increased to 4.86 million – a fourth straight month of increases. The rising cost of living, with high inflation and increasing interest rates, are leading to more Australians in part-time employment needing to work more hours to earn a sufficient income. These people in part-time employment looking for more hours are considered under-employed – now nearly 10% of the workforce. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.4% is more than double the ABS estimate of 3.7% for April, and is comparable to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 9.8%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

New overemployment trend sees Aussies earning double

May 31, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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.

CORPORATES
EMPLOYMENT HERO

Underpayment rife among migrant workers

May 24, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom McIlroy, Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 24-May-23

Research from the Grattan Institute has concluded that up to 16 per cent of recent migrants to Australia are being paid less than the minimum wage. This equates to around 82,000 workers; the research also suggests that up to 42,000 recent migrants are being underpaid by at least $3 an hour. Migrant workers were found to be vulnerable to many forms of exploitation apart from wage underpayment, such as unpaid leave, superannuation and penalty rates, cash-back arrangements, racism and sexual harassment. The Institute has made 27 recommendations to protect workers from exploitation.

CORPORATES
GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Australian employment hit a record high above 13.8 million in April as unemployment fell 0.9% to 8.5%

May 10, 2023roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-May-23

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that the number of Australians who are unemployed fell by 124,000 to 1.29 million (8.5% of the workforce) in April. However, underemployment was up 21,000 to 1.34 million (8.9% of the workforce). A total of 2.63 million Australians (17.4% of the workforce) were unemployed or underemployed in April, down 103,000 from March. Meanwhile, employment increased by 240,000 to 13,814,000 in April. The increase was driven by an increase in full-time employment, up 68,000 to a new record high of 9,058,000; part-time employment also increased, up 172,000 to 4,756,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.5% for April is 5% points higher than the ABS estimate of 3.5% for March and is comparable to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 9.7%.