Treasurer Jim Chalmers faces a fight between unions and big business about whether Australia’s historically low unemployment rate can be sustained.
In its submission, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it could be argued that Australia was currently beyond full employment.
“However, a wide range of factors, including connection to family, lifestyle, availability of housing, loss of access to childcaring, and the cost of moving can influence the willingness to move for work.”But the union movement is urging Dr Chalmers to push for a more ambitious target of zero involuntary unemployment, using the levers of government to engineer further job gains.
One of Australia’s leading labour market experts, University of Melbourne economics professor Jeff Borland, said the target rate for unemployment should be “around 4 per cent, and possibly lower, depending on circumstances”. Professor Borland said keeping the jobless rate low would benefit people at the bottom of the income distribution, since they otherwise would have been unemployed.But he also warned that the steady increase in underemployment meant the traditional measure of the unemployment rate was no longer the best barometer for the strength of the labour market.
“That manipulability allows the NAIRU to be retrofitted to whatever is the conventional wisdom about an acceptable rate of unemployment,” Professor Borland said.that is sustainable without pushing wages growth and inflation higher.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Labor’s pledge to build 1 million homes on track to failThe housing industry has warned Treasurer Jim Chalmers that high interest rates and rapidly rising costs are crushing the pipeline for new homes.
Read more »
Liberals refuse to reveal how they will campaign against the VoiceThe Liberal party refuses to reveal how they will be campaigning against the Voice to Parliament. Of the party’s 17 shadow ministers, only Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, Shadow Energy Minister Ted O’Brien, Senator Michaelia Cash, Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson, and Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston have explicitly said they’ll campaign against the Voice to Parliament. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the Solicitor Gneral will make his position on the preferred Voice model before the referendum following demands from the Liberal party to publish his advice.
Read more »
Queensland man's incredible fight for survival amid vicious croc attackA 44-year-old man&x27;s incredible fight for survival as croc tried to drown him while he was fishing in Queensland.
Read more »
New BoJ governor must end Japan’s easy money addictionKazuo Ueda faces the tough task of shifting gears to normalise monetary policy without hurting the economy too much, writes Masahiko Takeda.
Read more »
Six of the best: the new talent given a chance to stake Wallabies claim | Angus FontaineEddie Jones oversees his first camp this week with several new faces hoping to make an impression in a Rugby World Cup year
Read more »