News, media releases, opinions and articles from the Centre for Future Work.
Dogged manufacturing sector quietly adds 40,000 jobs
Ahead of a National Manufacturing Summit, a new report outlines the industry’s dogged resilience in difficult times, its importance to the Australian economy, and its more hopeful future prospects.
The report identifies several indicators suggesting that the economic opportunities for domestic ma…
Budget Wrap-Up
Several commentators have highlighted the budget’s highly optimistic assumptions regarding future job-creation and wage growth incorporated into the budget forecast. The government is anticipating an immediate and sustained acceleration of all of the factors that contribute to the wage base for tax revenue: faster job-creation, significantly faster growth in hourly pay, and dramatically faster growth…
Economists Debunk Job-Creation Claims of Penalty Rate Cut
The Fair Work Commission has ruled that penalty rates for Sunday and public holiday work in the retail and hospitality sectors should be reduced, which would reduce hourly wages on those days by up to $10 per hour. Business lobbyists predict this will spark a hiring surge in stores and restaurants, as employers take advantage of…
Don’t Pop Champagne Corks Over Longest Growth Streak
On April 1, Australia will surpass the Netherland’s old record to mark the longest unbroken expansion of real GDP in modern history. While this result permits much chest-thumping on the part of some politicians, we should never assume that there is an automatic correlation between GDP growth and the well-being of people, society, and the…
Pain of penalty rate cuts can not be avoided through transition measures
Analysis from The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work has shown that proposals for phasing in lower penalty rates for work on Sundays and holidays will not “protect” the workers affected by those cuts, and in some cases would make things worse.
Simulations of various proposals for deferr…
Employers’ pyrrhic penalty rates win reflects self-defeating economics
The Fair Work Commission unveiled its long-awaited decision on penalty rates for Sunday and holiday work. Penalty rates for most retail and hospitality workers will be cut, by up to 50 percentage points of the base wage. Hardest hit will be retail employees: their wages on Sundays will fall by $1…