Bringing together worker, business, and government representatives helped set clearer rules for everyone on public holidays. We need to try that same approach to lift NZ’s poor productivity.
In a greener future, what becomes of current fossil fuel workers? Despite possessing skills applicable to green industries, their geographical locations will limit their opportunities.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
30 years ago, Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating adopted an ambitious official target for Australian unemployment. The Albanese government just passed up a historic opportunity to go even further.
The new paper says closer to 2.8 million Australians are in some way unemployed, equivalent to one-fifth of the current workforce. That’s much more than the official unemployment total of 539,700.
More Australian employers are keen to employ Indigenous workers, but a large-scale analysis of job adverts shows a mismatch between demand for and supply of Indigenous talent.
Research shows nearly 20% of the poorer mental health reported by young adults with disability could be alleviated by helping those who want to work into jobs.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The Treasury and RBA believe Australia’s sustainable rate of unemployment is above 4%, but Australia’s leading economists think 3.75% is possible long-term, and have ideas about how to achieve it.
Wildfires on Maui are a crippling blow to the island’s tourism industry, which generates half of its jobs. But New Orleans and Kauai show that comebacks are possible.
New digital technologies have been a constant for workers over the past few decades, with a mixed record on the economy and individuals’ daily lives. AI’s effect will likely be just as unpredictable.
The Fed’s campaign of rate hikes is showing more signs of having the intended effect of slowing the economy – but that may be bad news for those who lose their jobs or have a harder time finding one.