Employment

=Employment=

Unemployment
toc

Employment vacancies by State/Territory
An Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey has shown that the various Australian States and Territories have [|vastly different conditions]for employment vacancies, ranging from 1 unemployed person per job (NT) to 7.1 unemployed persons per job in Tasmania.

What's more interesting however from a business perspective is the details -- for example, the explanation why the ACT's healthy 1.2 unemployed persons per job might not be as rosy as it seems. This sort of detail also explains how there can be "pockets" of unemployed people where there appear to be plenty of jobs available. 31-3-2011

Dole crackdown
The federal Liberal Party believes it has the answer to getting people to work: [|a dole crackdown], tighten eligibility for disability benefits and quarantining 50% of welfare income so that it is spent on essentials.31-3-2011

Skills shortage "biggest crimp" on ACT businesses
"...Canberra Business Council chief executive officer Chris Faulks said the skills shortage was the single biggest constraint on ACT businesses, to the point some of her members were thinking of moving out of the territory so they could find staff and not have to compete with public service pay rates..."

Even where jobs are available, job seekers may not have the skills needed by employers. A [|Canberra Times article] (31-3-2011) delves into this aspect of the ACT's employment problem.
 * 1) Describe the problem facing employers in the ACT. What social and economic factors contribute to this problem?
 * 2) What are the areas of skill shortage?
 * 3) How can these skills be provided? Give three groups who might help fix the problem of skills shortage.
 * 4) Do employers have a right to complain, or is the problem at least partially their responsibility?
 * 5) What should an employer do to improve the skills of their employees?
 * 6) Are employers doing enough, or should they take greater responsibility for skills training of employees?

31-3-2011

Population
"Australia is heading for a downswing in population growth that could last for a generation, making it harder for businesses to attract and retain workers, a report predicts. The labour market is set to contract as migration rates fall and baby boomers begin to retire in increasing numbers, PKF Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers says."

Things don't look good down the track. Migration rates are falling, Baby Boomers retiring, a slowing in natural population growth and, unfortunately, newborn babies aren't great workers until they've grown up. [|Workforce decline to hurt small business]

This problem is common across the developed world: as people (especially women) become more educated and/or seek more fulfilling work, they put off starting families and end up having fewer children -- or no children at all. Immigration can supply the shortfall temporarily, but the children of migrants adopt the same behaviour as those whose families have lived in developed countries for generations.

Immigration to cover our skills shortage also leads to a drain on skilled workers in the source countries. Does our wealth give us a right to skilled workers, such as medical professionals, who are desperately needed in African and Asian countries?