Australian labour force employment changes in 14 months to July 2021

 Australian labour force changes in the Covid-age


Australian employment to July 2021 was affected by the tumultuous Covid-19 pandemic, which started its economic impact in March 2020. A comparison with February of that year, 17 months earlier, shows total employment is up by nearly 100,000 persons, distributed between full-time and part-time employment. The increase, although welcome, is far smaller than a typical year prior to Covid-19, when the labour force increased by 250,000 per year (largely due to inbound migration). 

Unemployment reduced by 128,000. This reduction involved some people entering employment, and some people leaving the workforce (33,000 people). This is shown in the chart. It is not clear if those people permanently left the workforce, or if some of them will return.

The total civilian population increased by about 110,000 people. This increase is despite that immigration stopped dead from March 2020, when many working visa holders also left the country. So the increase in population is a net increase of the 'in place' adult population.

All these developments in the labour force are marginal changes. After all, the total employed population is around 13 million people. But these marginal changes over the last 17 months, and what is to come, are important. 

There is an unprecedented level of govt financial interventions that will have repercussions over the coming year. Interest rates are at a record low. Vaccination for the virus is proceeding rapidly, likely to be complete in months. Parts of the economy that are currently dormant, will revive, increasing employment in those sectors. All of these factors will have impacts on the economy, beginning in 2022.

Feel free to ask questions or make comments. 

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#Australia #employment #unemployment #labourforce #6202 #australianbureauofstatistics #datavisualisation


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