Decline to boom to slowdown: Australia’s labour market in the COVID- 19 era

Jeff Borland ()
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Jeff Borland: Department of Economics, https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/12833-jeff-borland

Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series from Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne

Abstract: This paper presents a five-year review of Australia’s labour market spanning what I term the ‘COVID-19 era’, from early 2020 through to the end of 2024. A first objective is to provide a history of the main developments in the labour market during this tumultuous period. The evolution of employment outcomes across different phases is charted, together with analysis of how adjustment happened, and which jobs and workers were most affected. In addition, topics relating to wage growth, labour supply and labour productivity, and the role of government policy, are covered in detail. A second objective is to demonstrate that understanding the COVID-19 era enables important lessons to be drawn about the operation of Australia’s labour market and about policy – relevant both for today and for similar future episodes.

Keywords: labour market; Australia; COVID-19; Policy; employment; wages; productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J01 J08 J40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 80pp
Date: 2025-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-lma
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