Today’s release of the – Labour Force data – for April 2015 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the Australian labour market has contracted again, repeating the pattern over the last 24 months or so where employment growth zig-zags around the zero line and is weak at best. Full-time employment growth was sharply negative this month. Unemployment rose as a result as did the unemployment rate, but the latter would have been higher than 6.2 per cent had not the participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points. The teenage labour market went backwards again and remains in a parlous state and requires an urgent policy problem that the Federal government refuses to recognise or deal with. In general, there remains a need for more job creation stimulated by an increased federal government deficit. Next week’s fiscal statement, widely tipped to include further cuts in net government spending, will demonstrate how incompetent and out of touch the federal government in Australia is.

Today’s release of the – Labour Force data – for March 2015 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the Australian labour market was stronger than in recent months but overall remains relatively weak. There was some modest growth in employment for the second consecutive month and better full-time employment growth. Employment growth just kept with the growth in the labour force (new entrants and a slight rise in participation) which meant that the fall in unemployment was virtually zero. The unemployment rate fell from 6.15 per cent to 6.12 per cent (1,500 persons). The teenage labour market remains in a parlous state and requires an urgent policy problem that the Federal government refuses to recognise or deal with. In general, there remains a need for more job creation stimulated by an increased federal government deficit.

An interesting study published in The European Journal of Public Health recently November 2014) – Length of unemployment and health related outcomes: A life course analysis – provides fairly unambiguous evidence that the changes in labour markets under neo-liberalism towards higher entrenched unemployment rates, increased casualisation of work, the lockout of graduates and the widespread deskilling of the workforce are eroding the health outcomes of the population. While most studies of the link between unemployment and health have focused on cohorts that endure continuous long-term joblessness (unbroken spells exceeding 12 months), this study is novel because it studies whether accumulated spells of shorter-term unemployment over a person’s lifetime are detrimental to their health. The reason that is relevant is because under neo-liberalism, many individuals are forced to eke out an existence in low paid jobs interspersed with spells of unemployment. The evidence in the former case (continuous) long-term unemployment is clear – unemployment makes the person sick and they get sicker the longer they are unemployment (both physically and mentally). The new study shows that long-term unemployment generated over a person’s life through a series of accumulated spells of shorter-term unemployment also is bad for public health and well-being. It means that the emphasis on austerity which causes cyclical effects to be worse (entrenched mass unemployment) is bad but also the main structural bias in growth periods towards casualised, precarious work is also bad for our health.

Today’s release of the – Labour Force data – for February 2015 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the Australian labour market remains weak. While employment growth was modest the unemployment rate only fell by 0.1 percentage points as a result of a declining participation rate. Employment growth remains well below the underlying population growth with the result being an upward bias in the unemployment rate. The falling participation rate reflects a rising hidden unemployment rate as workers have given up looking for work. The broad ABS labour underutilisation rate – the sum of unemployment and underemployment – will now be heading towards 16 per cent (it is published in next month’s release). While the Australian Treasurer might deny that the teenage labour market is in crisis, the data tells a different story.The teenage labour market is in a parlous state and requires an urgent policy problem that the Federal government refuses to recognise or deal with. They are so obsessed with cutting fiscal deficits and shoring up the position of the Prime Minister and Treasurer that they cannot see the future damage they are causing as a result of the appalling state of the youth labour market and the weak labour market in general.

Today’s release of the – Labour Force data – for January 2015 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the Australian labour market contracted in January 2015, after the slight Xmas boost in December. Full-time employment growth was sharply negative and overall employment fell. Unemployment rose sharply and with the labour force growing at the rate of underlying population growth (participation rate steady), the unemployment rate shot up 0.3 points to 6.4 per cent. This is a disaster that has been unfolding for the last two years and now reflects the incompetent policy position of the current federal government. The Treasurer should now resign before he does any further damage. The broad ABS labour underutilisation rate – the sum of unemployment and underemployment – will now be heading towards 16 per cent (it is published in next month’s release). The teenage labour market went backwards again this month, which signals an urgent policy problem that the Federal government refuses to recognise or deal with. They are so obsessed with cutting fiscal deficits that they cannot see the future damage they are causing as a result of the appalling state of the youth labour market.

Today’s release of the – Labour Force data – for December 2014 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the Australian labour market modestly in the month of December. The good news is that full-time employment growth was positive and the participation rate rose, and unemployment fell. The bad news is that employment remains below the underlying growth in the labour force and the bias is thus towards higher unemployment. Monthly working hours fell this month, which was curious given the predominant full-time employment growth. But monthly data is volatile and the trends are still fairly poor. Remember that last month, the broad ABS labour underutilisation rate – the sum of unemployment and underemployment – was estimated to be at 15 per cent. That is a crisis. So a month’s growth in December is good but needs to be kept in context. The teenage labour market went backwards again this month, which signals an urgent policy problem that the Federal government refuses to recognise or deal with. They are so obsessed with cutting fiscal deficits that they cannot see the future damage they are causing as a result of the appalling state of the youth labour market.

The economic news leading into today’s ABS labour force release was poor. Last week, the national accounts for the June-quarter was released and showed a marked slowing in the Australian economy during that quarter. Many commentators claimed the data wasn’t accurate and would be revised upwards. I don’t think that is the case. Yesterday, there was terrible data released relating to the drop in consumer confidence. And today’s release of the – Labour Force data – for November 2014 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is consistent with that news. The labour market is weak and getting weaker. Employment is stumbling along and dominated by part-time employment growth. Unemployment continues to rise. Underemployment has rocketed up as working hours have fallen over the last month. The broad ABS labour underutilisation rate – the sum of unemployment and underemployment – is now at 15 per cent. That is a crisis. But the government still claims it needs to cut net public spending. For what purpose? To reduce the fiscal deficit even though this will cause a massive loss of national income and a further rise in unemployment and underemployment. And … as the current evidence suggests, the fall in activity will kill tax revenue and the fiscal deficit will rise anyway. It would be better if the government accepted its responsibility as the currency issuer and stimulated the economy with a job creation plan.