Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The best measure of living standards – real household disposable income per capita – has been going backwards for two years. It’s the biggest dive in living standards in half a century.
The Bureau of Statistics is considering scaling back the scope of Australia’s time-use survey in a way that will make it difficult to tell how much time we spend caring for children.
Six charts explain the Australian economy. Three of the most disturbing show living standards going backwards, productivity collapsing and household saving falling to a 15-year low.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
India is now the third-largest birthplace of Australian residents behind Australia and England, while for the first time less than half of the population has identified as Christian.
The concept of unemployment and an unemployment rate is fairly new, dating back to the end of the second world war. It’s increasingly unfit for purpose.
The share of the population in work has hit an all-time high as the share of the workforce underemployed has hit a 14-year low. The fresh low in unemployment will bring higher interest rates, and perhaps higher wages.