Unemployment in the UK has fallen below two million for the first time in almost six years, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show. It’s certainly good news, but there are some important…
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has become a political football.
Alan Porritt/AAP
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has come under attack for the perceived lack of reliability of its labour force statistics, particularly the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is one of…
Youth unemployment is a lingering global issue.
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Charis Palmer, The Conversation e Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation
Review The youth unemployment rate increased from 12.8% in August to 13.2% in September seasonally adjusted, in line with the slight overall increase in unemployment. However, the latest figures for 15-24…
The unemployment rate is one of the most closely followed macroeconomic indicators. Of importance in its own right, it tells us about the level of spare capacity in the economy and provides information…
The picture of Australia’s economy right now is murky.
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The CAMA RBA Shadow Board is a project by the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, based at the ANU, which asks industry and academic economists what interest rate the Reserve Bank of Australia should…
Thanks to language, many people despise economists.
Lafayette College/Flickr
Every scientific discipline has its own language, largely to save time when conversing with others from the same discipline. For instance, in trigonometry it’s much easier to talk about the “hypotenuse…
How do I do a bullet point on this?
Shutterstock couple on phones
Concerns have been raised for some time about the UK government’s “digital by default” approach to welfare reforms. More and more public services are being shifted online and many fear that this will marginalise…
Creating more jobs is a rather common promise in politics. Some politicians are more daring in pledging to create a certain number of jobs within a given period of time. During the 2013 electoral campaign…
Where will the new jobs come from?
le Haricot/Flickr. Artist credit: George Segal
(COMMENTS UPDATED) In the lead up to last year’s federal election, the government promised two million new jobs within 10 years. Its focus was on the “five pillar economy” of manufacturing, agriculture…
The government incentivises workers to relocate for a job, but is it incentivising the right workers?
Faisal Akram/Flickr
As a policy response to unemployment and structural change, incentives for workers to relocate in search of work have been pushing higher up the policy agenda. This has been the trend since the World Bank’s…
Even Angela Merkel now seems to agree that austerity has run its course. When Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, together with other European leaders, led a fresh charge against the ill-fated policy…
Rates should stay steady for now, say CAMA economists.
Dan Peled/AAP
The CAMA RBA Shadow Board is a project by the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, based at the ANU, which asks industry and academic economists what interest rate the Reserve Bank of Australia should…
The probability of receiving a work for the dole pilot is much higher in non-marginal electorates, regardless of the level of actual youth unemployment.
AAP/Julian Smith
In July, the federal government will begin a series of pilot programs for its work for the dole scheme across Australia. All job seekers aged 18 to 30 who have been unemployed for more than a year and…
More than one-third of unemployed people are aged 15 to 24, a critical period in their lives.
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Australia came out of the global financial crisis better than most industrialised countries, but did not escape altogether. With a weaker economy, the unemployment rate rose from about 4% to 6% between…
Shadow Minister for Families & Payments, Jenny Macklin, says the HILDA survey contradicts Joe Hockey’s claims that Australia’s welfare spending is out of control.
Alan Porritt/AAP
Charis Palmer, The Conversation e Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation
The latest instalment of the long running Housing, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey from the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research was released today, with many commentators using…
Australia should be proud of its high minimum wage.
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Last week Australia’s Fair Work Commission increased the national minimum wage to A$16.87 an hour from 1 July, 2014. The usual suspects rolled out the usual arguments denouncing this initiative, and Treasurer…
Many people prefer casual work and a phased approach to retirement.
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The norm of permanent full-time terms of employment is under serious challenge. In Australia today more than one-third of employed people work on more variable terms – in particular as casuals (19%), independent…
The number of young unemployed people has grown by more than 60% in less than six years, so why are they largely ignored?
AAP/Alan Porritt
I believe there is a special case for taking an interest in youth unemployment. It is concerning that more than one-third of the unemployed people in Australia are aged 15 to 24. In the 14 years leading…
Destination unknown: measuring youth unemployment is a fraught business.
Martin Rickett/PA
Governments across Europe are searching for effective policies to drive down youth unemployment. Most European countries have experienced an alarming rise in the levels of young people (16-24) who are…