Professor Geoff Borland, Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne, has provided an overview of unemployment in Australia in a recent article on The Conversation.

 

Professor Borland noted that, having increased by an average of about 272,500 jobs per year in the six years from November 2004, employment grew by only 43,000 jobs from November 2010 – 2011.

 

“What happens to employment is primarily a reflection of what is happening to demand conditions in the Australian economy. Presently, major influences on demand are the mining boom, consumer sentiment, and demographic change,” he said.

 

“The two faces of Australia’s mining boom are apparent in employment outcomes in 2011. The boom continued to cause growth in mining employment, with 41,400 jobs being added. But the high exchange rate for the Australian dollar that the boom has caused, by making it cheaper to buy from importers and on-line sellers, harmed the manufacturing and retail sectors, which together lost a total of 72,000 jobs.”

 

Other factors affecting employment figures included consumer caution, affecting both the retailing and the building and construction sectors, and increased off-shoring of mining construction activity.  The agriculture sector has also seen a slowdown, losing almost 30,000 jobs in 2011.

 

The healthcare sector has seen an increase in job numbers, with 56,000 jobs added in 2011,  and the finance sector also grew, adding 36,500 jobs.

 

Professor Borland observed that professional workers, sales workers and labourers were particularly affected by job losses.  He said there were no evident employment differences between the states,  and the weaker labour market conditions were equally affecting both male and female, and full-time and part-time workers.

 

Professor Borland raised the question of how policy makers should respond in the event that Australia enters a prolonged period of weaker growth and higher unemployment, and warned of the adverse social and economic consequences of increasing long-term unemployment.

 

Professor Borland’s article is available here.