A review of South Africa’s methodology to measure poverty shows that 60% of people in the country are poor. This is way higher than the figures that are usually quoted.
Politicians all too often use monthly jobs numbers to infer that the other mob is doing a bad job or that they are doing a great job at managing the economy. But that’s a flawed use of the data.
One in five workers in South Africa is poor. The plight of the working poor has wide implications. Employers have a responsibility to ensure a minimum level of decent wages.
The July employment report suggests the recent trend of lackluster gains in jobs and wages is continuing, and a rate hike should therefore be off the table for the time being.
A coalition of companies including Starbucks and Walmart plan to help 100,000 young people jumpstart their careers. It’s a good start, but much more needs to be done.
The more we automate jobs, the more we need to find new jobs for people, especially if the government wants us to stay in the workforce longer. That’s going to take some clever thinking.
As we head into the federal budget tonight, all eyes will be on how the Coalition government might tackle some challenging economic data affecting Australia’s economy.