Profound economic, social and civil changes have provoked a remarkable series of temporally cogent observations from vastly different actors this week. This highlights the diverse yet converging, social, academic and political recognition at the heart of public-policy challenges in the 21st century. At the CORE of future policy and an inclusive, functioning civil society, is the recognition of the centrality of good governance.…
Variations on a theme: Some great work from Amanda Cox at the New York Times looking at US Labour Markets: At every age, the chances of not working have changed in the last 15 years. Teenagers are far more likely not to work. Older people are retiring later and working more. In the ages in between — the periods of…
For those living and working in rural areas, the importance of providing genuine pathways to skilled employment for local populations, particularly young-people, is paramount. We understand in great detail, the challenges of ageing rural populations and structural adjustments. This is more than just a "microcosm" of the challenges facing our national economy. Working in the field of skills development, labour…
Can a 3D printer cool the Planet? Stay with me on this.. As we once again hear that the 1990 IPCC Climate modelling for the planet is "on trend" or "coming true", I ponder the relationship between some of the major policy challenges Australia faces and see opportunity where at present we seem only to be experiencing confusion and much…
A recent tweet from the NTEU ACT Division (@NTEUACT) Australia has 2nd highest level of insecure work in OECD - after Spain. We know that we are approaching 40% of the workforce undertaking insecure work. *Source: Lives on Hold - Unlocking the potential of Australia's workforce. We also hear much about "skills shortages" and the need for "flexibility", yet the…
5.8% unemployment. Once again, the labour market data in Australia shows a remarkably robust labour market, with seasonally adjusted unemployment stable in July at 5.8%. ANZ CEO Mike Smith last night stated that he saw unemployment here stabilising at 6%, which would be remarkable. The problem is that that would require a fair pick up in the economy in the…
Labour market. The unemployment numbers yesterday were again remarkably good relative to what is happening elsewhere in the world. The headline u/e rate is up to 5.8%. Since July last year we’ve lost about 160,000 full time jobs, but part time jobs are up about 127,000. Of course we need to create jobs to stop the unemployment rate from rising,…
Andrew Leigh says: Jeff Borland has a splendid article (gated, sorry) in the latest Australian Economic Review on what happens to the labour market in recessions. 4 Key points: The impact across industries differs greatly. In past recessions, employment tends to fall in agriculture, manufacturing and construction, but also tends to rise in ‘recreation and personal services’, and sometimes also in…
Staying at School Ain’t Silly. Andrew Leigh - Nicholas Gruen draws my attention to a piece on school completion by CIS researcher Peter Saunders (based on a longer paper here) [Broken Link - see below], who argues: Three-quarters of students currently stay to year 12, and most of them benefit from higher earnings and better job prospects as a result.…