Commentary and analysis of labour force data releases.

Another neoliberal institution shown to be unfit for purpose while lining the pockets of private equity and millionaires

Over the last several years, I have been indicating that I think we are in the endgame for neoliberalism as a dominant ideology. On many fronts, the signs are that its institutional structure has failed and the promises that justified that structure have not materialised. I know there is a difference between the promises to sell the idea (that we would all be better off) and the true motivation (to enrich the already wealthy and consolidate their hegemony). But short of military dictatorship where the top-end-of-town control the military, major economic changes are conditioned by the legislative and regulative structure created by government. That means that the voters have to be convinced that change is worthwhile. Neoliberalism thrived because the elites reconfigured the state to serve their interests after the social democratic era saw the state play a mediation role in the class conflict. That reconfiguration was driven by an intense public relations campaign to manipulate the public perception. The working class was divided into segments and segments were turned on other segments (the ‘dole bludgers’, the migrants, trans people, etc) as part of the strategy. The strategy enriched the architects beyond belief but for the rest of us the outcomes have proven dysfunctional to say the least. Now the endgame is upon us as the evidence continues to stack up that neoliberalism was an elaborate con to enrich the already rich and powerful. A report from Australia last week added to the evidence. It shows that one of the defining manifestations of neoliberalism in Australia – the privatised job services system has failed badly and only serves to fills “the pockets of private equity and millionaires, while leaving jobseekers without work”. Another brick in the wall falls.

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Australian labour market – shifts towards part-time work perhaps the first signal that a contraction is coming

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest labour force data today (July 23, 2026) – Labour Force, Australia – for June 2026 – which provided mixed signals about the state of the labour market. While employment growth was positive, it was biased to part-time work, which is perhaps signalling a weakening as the first adjustment typically made by employers is to reduce hours of work before they cut jobs overall. However, on the other side, participation grew, which means more workers are either working or seeking work. However, the bias towards part-time work was manifest in the rising underemployment rate. There are now 10.9 per cent of available labour not being used (either unemployed or underemployed), which makes a farce of the RBA’s claims that the labour market is tight. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present.

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What the new British government needs to do to get the unions on side with climate action

The recent extreme weather in the northern hemisphere, the twin monster tropical storms in Japan, the impending shutdown of the – Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Amoc) – among other happenings is telling us that things are changing for the worse. Clearly long-term weather trends are open to interpretation because the available data is sketchy the further one goes back. And, narratives from historians tell us that there have been rather extreme weather events in the past, which have led to many lost lives. The National Museum of Australia has an interesting information page – Heatwaves – which helps us understand the historical experience in Australia. There are other credible sites that deal with global events. However, the serial nature of the recent weather trends and the interlinked changes in the oceanic conditions, the cryosphere, rain and storms, and temperature allows us to counter the arguments that are presented to refute climate change science, which rely on claims that the current period is just part of a recurring cycle. These events are also relevant to the current political machinations in the UK, where Starmer is going (yay!) and the new probably PM is under fire from both business and unions for wanting to do something about climate change. In this post, I discuss what can be done.

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Australian labour market – slight improvement after dismal results in April

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest labour force data today (June 25, 2026) – Labour Force, Australia – for May 2026 – which showed that the labour market improved slightly in May after a poor showing in the April figures. However, there are now 10.2 per cent of available labour not being used (either unemployed or underemployment), which makes a farce of the RBA’s claims that the labour market is tight. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present.

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Latest changes to Australian privatised job service industry are just window dressing and the sociopaths remain dominant

In the 1990s, a new industry was created in Australia. It produced nothing. But it was the federal government’s response to the political fallout from the high unemployment that had persisted since it abandoned its committent to full employment in the 1980s as neoliberal ideology became dominant and the corporate sector took control of public policy. The industry was the ‘unemployment’ industry and took the form of a privatised job services system which was paid billions of dollars in public money to ‘manage’ the unemployment. It produced nothing beneficial and has destroyed millions of lives. It has been a public policy disaster for more than 28 years yet successive federal governments have persisted with it. Yesterday (May 27, 2026), the Federal government announced what it claims are the first major reforms in decades of this failed system of job services provision. Unfortunately, the changes announced by the Australian government yesterday are just window-dressing and behind the hype remains a deeply flawed system that will never produce positive outcomes for disadvantaged Australians. What it will continue to achieve is the enrichment of the privatised operators and their shareholders or stakeholders, while the unemployed are forced to live on income support payments that are well below the poverty line and be subjected to sociopathological obligations that do nothing to advance their job prospects. The whole privatised system should be abandoned.

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Australian labour market – sharp deterioration in April (RBA will be happy!)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest labour force data today (May 21, 2026) – Labour Force, Australia – for April 2026 – which showed that the labour market deteriorated significantly in April. All the main indicators were moving in negative directions – employment growth fell, participation fell, unemployment increased, the employment-population ratio fell. There are now 10.2 per cent of available labour not being used (either unemployed or underemployment), which makes a farce of the RBA’s claims that the labour market is tight. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present. However, if the global situation doesn’t improve quickly then that slack will increase sharply.

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Australian labour market – largely stable but dark clouds present

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest labour force data today (APRIL 16, 2026) – Labour Force, Australia – for March 2026 – which showed that the labour market steadied after last month’s contraction. While employment growth remained positive and was dominated by full-time work gains (as part-time employment fell), the fact that the participation rate fell helped keep the unemployment rate stable. There are now 10.1 per cent of available labour not being used (either unemployed or underemployment), which makes a farce of the RBA’s claims that the labour market is tight. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present. However, if the global situation doesn’t improve quickly then that slack will increase sharply.

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Australian labour market – unemployment rises sharply – hard to reconcile with RBA’s excess demand claim

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest labour force data today (March 19, 2026) – Labour Force, Australia – for February 2026 – which showed that the labour market had gone backwards. While employment growth remained positive, full-time work fell. The participation rate rose, which in some situations indicates a positive outlook as workers re-enter the labour market to take advantage of the increased employment opportunities. In this case, I think it signals more desperation as cost-of-living pressures rise, given that a lot of older workers came back into the labour market looking for work. Unemployment rose sharply (0.2 points) to 4.3 per cent. Together with underemployment, there are now 10.1 per cent of available labour not being used it is ludicrous to talk about Australia being close to full employment. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present. The RBA’s claim that there is significant excess demand in the overall economy, which they used on Tuesday to justify a further rate hike, is hard to reconcile against this data.

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Interest rate hikes will not get ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz more quickly

Regular readers will know that I hate the term NAIRU – or Non-Accelerating-Inflation-Rate-of-Unemployment – which is a concoction invented by mainstream economists to maintain unemployment at elevated levels (to keep the working class in its place) and give cover to central banks to run monetary policies that redistribute income from poor to rich. If you search through my archives you will find many posts about this abomination. I am guessing with all the supply disruptions at present as a result of the illegal invasion of Iran, central bankers will start claiming interest rates will have to rise to curb the inflation. They will dress these claims up in some economic sophistry and the official speak will talk about NAIRUs and excessive demand pressures. Yet, in reality, there is no such justification. The rate rises will not get ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz more quickly, just as they did not get factories back to work during the early COVID period. Here is some analysis to support my point.

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