LABOR MARKET – AUSTRALIA

ABS unemployment follows Roy Morgan’s unemployment data showing job losses in December

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Jan-23

The latest ABS unemployment data released yesterday showed employment down by 14,600 in December, in line with the already released Roy Morgan employment data which showed employment down by 12,000. The ABS data also showed a rise of 0.1% points in the unemployment rate in line with the increase in Roy Morgan’s unemployment rate, up 0.3% points in December – although ABS unemployment at 3.5% is less than half that of Roy Morgan (9.3%). The ABS employment data was collected at the start of December and may be the first inkling of a weakening economy. The decline in jobs in December shows why it is so important for the Albanese Government to get their industrial relations policies right – including dealing with the cash economy. Younger people are heavily represented in the cash economy, which is widespread in the retail and hospitality industries, and also for those employed for domestic duties and in childcare. View the latest Roy Morgan employment data to learn more.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Australian unemployment increased to 9.3% in December in line with the usual seasonal trends for this time of the year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Jan-23

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.38 million Australians (9.3% of the workforce) were unemployed in December, up 46,000 from November. The increase in unemployment was in line with the usual seasonal trends seen at this time of the year as school leavers and university students joined the workforce. The number of Australians looking for full-time work rose 89,000 to 595,000 in December, while the number of people looking for part-time work fell 43,000 to 789,000. Some 1.36 million Australians (9.1% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work – down 16,000 from November. In total, 2.74 million Australians (19.4% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in December, up 30,000 on November. Meanwhile, employment decreased by 12,000 to 13,568,000 in December. This was driven by a drop in full-time employment (down 97,000 to 8,771,000), although part-time employment increased in line with the usual seasonal trends (up by 85,000 to 4,797,000). Roy Morgan’s under-employment figure of 9.1% is over 3% points higher than the ABS estimate of 5.8% for November.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

More older Australians working than ever before, data reveals

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Original article by Noah Yim
The Daily Telegraph – Page: Online : 10-Jan-23

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that five per cent of the nation’s workers – some 689,900 people – were aged 65+ in November 2022. This compares with 619,800 in November 2019, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Independent economist Chris Richardson notes that employers had to reconsider the value of older workers during the pandemic, due to the historically low unemployment rate and the lack of access to younger workers from overseas. He adds that Australia’s shift to a service economy means the physical negatives of ageing are now much less of a problem than in the past.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Australian unemployment drops to 8.1% in September as employment soars to a record high above 13.7 million

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Oct-22

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.2 million Australians (8.1% of the workforce) were unemployed in September, down 161,000 (1.1%) from August. The number of Australians looking for full-time work fell 57,000 to 535,000 in September, and the number of people looking for part-time work was down 104,000 to 667,000. Some 1.56 million Australians (10.5% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work – up 59,000 from August. In total, 2.76 million Australians (18.6% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in September, up 72,000 on August. Meanwhile, employment increased by 218,000 to a record high of 13,705,000 in September. This was driven by a rise in both full-time employment (up 197,000 to 8,881,000) and part-time employment (up 21,000 to a record high of 4,824,000). Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.1% for September is more than double the ABS estimate for August of 3.5%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Aussie unemployment is set to soar in 2023

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Original article by Leith van Onselen
MacroBusiness – Page: Online : 24-Aug-22

The fall in Australia’s official unemployment rate to 3.4% has capped off a tremendous post-pandemic rebound that has delivered the best labour market in generations. The result also signalled that the boom is nearing an end, with total jobs and hours worked falling sharply in July; the unemployment rate only fell due to a decline in the participation rate. The collapse in immigration during the pandemic is the primary reason why Australia’s unemployment rate has fallen to a 48-year low. However, it has been widely reported that the Albanese Government will use the upcoming Jobs & Skills Summit as a trojan horse to increase Australia’s permanent migrant intake to its highest ever level. Accordingly, Australia next year faces its biggest ever intake of net overseas migration, easily eclipsing the all-time high 316,000 recorded in 2008 during the Rudd Government’s reign. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is a lagging economic indicator that will not have captured the RBA’s aggressive rate hikes over the past four months. Never has the RBA commenced a rate tightening cycle with consumer confidence in such a poor state. Outside of the pandemic, consumer confidence is tracking around its lowest level since the early 1990s recession. Ramping-up immigration at the same time as the economy grinds to a halt from aggressive rate hikes is bad news for Australian workers. They will soon find it more difficult to score and job and negotiate higher wages.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

The Hidden Unemployed must not be ignored at the Jobs & Skills Summit

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Original article by Michele Levine
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Aug-22

The latest Roy Morgan unemployment figures for July show that there are 1.25 million Australians out of work and looking for a job (8.5% of the workforce), and another 1.27 million who want to work more hours (8.6% of the workforce). However, the ABS unemployment figures say that only 3.4% of the workforce is unemployed (474,000). The key reason for the difference of over 770,000 people is the way being unemployed is defined. Roy Morgan asks a person who is not in paid employment if they are looking for paid work. If the answer is yes, Roy Morgan considers that person to be unemployed. The ABS classifies a person as unemployed only if, when surveyed, they have been actively looking for work in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and if they were available for work in the reference week. That means anyone out of work for three weeks is never counted. The ABS also publishes an annual survey on ‘Potential workers’ which much more accurately captures the true level of unemployment in Australia. In late May 2022 the ABS released the latest version of this survey for the month of February. It showed that there were 1.8 million ‘Potential workers’ in Australia and another 900,000 under-employed workers – over 2.7 million Australians either wanting to work or wanting to work more hours. The remarkable aspect of this release is that the figures are so similar to those from Roy Morgan. These extra potential workers should not be forgotten in the deliberations at the federal government’s Jobs & Skills Summit.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Jobs summit to focus on employment for people with disability

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Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: Online : 17-Aug-22

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says action is needed to get more people with a disability into the workforce. She argues that such people make significant contributions to the workplace, and hiring them should not be seen as an optional or charitable act. Rishworth will host a disability employment roundtable in Canberra on Monday, ahead of the jobs and skills summit. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that more than more than 220,000 people of working age with a disability are not currently in the labour force but want to work and are looking for a job.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

RBA deliberately setting up for a recession: ACTU

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Original article by Michael Read, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Aug-22

The ACTU has released a policy paper which argues that full and secure employment should be the top macroeconomic priority for the Jobs and Skills Summit. The report was written by Jim Stanford from the Centre for Future Work; he argues that the Reserve Bank’s "whatever it takes" approach to returning inflation to its target range means it is willing to cause a recession and massive job losses in order to do so. The ACTU wants the summit to consider a fairer and more comprehensive inflation-reducing policy, and greater regulation of labour markets to ensure that real wages growth is in line with productivity.

CORPORATES
ACTU, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED. CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Australian unemployment increases to 8.5% in July as workforce swells to 14.7 million Australians

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Aug-22

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.25 million Australians (8.5% of the workforce) were unemployed in July, up 121,000 (0.7%) from June. The number of Australians looking for full-time work was up 85,000 to 494,000 in July, and the number of people looking for part-time work was up 36,000 to 752,000. Some 1.27 million Australians (8.6% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work – up 44,000 from June. In total, 2.52 million Australians (17.1% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in July, up 165,000 on June. Meanwhile, employment increased by 74,000 to 13,440,000 in July, driven by an increase in full-time employment (up 8,000 to 8,884,000); part-time employment rose by 66,000 to 4,556,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.5% for July is more than double the ABS estimate for June of 3.5%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Plan for over-65s to ease jobs crisis

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Jun-22

Employers’ groups and the Council on the Ageing have expressed support for a proposal to address the skills crisis by allowing older Australians to work additional hours without affecting their pension payments. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar estimates that this could encourage at least 400,000 people over the age of 65 to return to the workforce. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated that the proposal is among the issues that will be discussed at the national employment summit later in 2022.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, COUNCIL ON THE AGEING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY