Monitoring the Australian labour market

Australia’s labour market is at the centre of several critical economic policy and business issues this year.  

In terms of monetary policy, the RBA is balancing its ambition of seeing unemployment fall to its lowest rate since the 1970s with concerns over rising inflationary pressure. Fiscal policy, too, has been directed towards the glittering prize of achieving full employment, as noted in the recent testimony of the Treasury Secretary. Meanwhile, Australian businesses are reporting skills and labour shortages alongside COVID-19 related disruptions. And in our most recent Director Sentiment Index (DSI), respondents identified workforce shortages as the top economic challenge facing Australian businesses, ahead of the pandemic, climate change and the China relationship.

All of which means that it pays to keep a close eye on labour market developments. Please click here for the latest version of our labour market chart pack. As well as new charts covering the January 2022 labour force report in detail, it also includes the latest payroll jobs, job ads and job vacancy numbers, the most recent RBA labour market forecasts and a selection of charts on a range of other labour market issues including staff shortages, COVID-related disruptions, job mobility and employment duration.