A tale of two cities
Economies with and without Covid: NSW vs. WA Covid-19 struck the Australian economy from March 2020, causing a historic economic downturn. Unemployment rose sharply, participation in the workforce reduced. Australian employment made a partial recovery after mid 2020, following a successful isolation from the Covid pandemic. This is reflected in the rebound up of participation, and down of unemployment. Since July this year however the Covid virus (Delta variant) has settled itself in both NSW and Victoria. Policy makers accepted that it was here to stay. Meanwhile, a fast vaccination effort was underway. This should see 80% of adults vaccinated by November 2021. The national unemployment rate continues on a downward path, reaching 4.5 percent at end August. But this number alone paints a misleading picture. Employment in NSW has dropped since July, due to Covid quarantining. Meanwhile, WA, which has had a booming export sector, and almost zero Covid, has rising employment, rising