Authors:Kirsten Martinus Pages: 1 - 13 Abstract: Background The geographic mobility of labour has long facilitated a well-functioning labour market for Australia, being of importance in skill-matching and jobs in regional economies. Disrupting the long-distance labour commute, COVID-19 border closures and community lockdowns had an immediate and significant impact on the Australian labour market. Aims The aim is to understand Australian labour force demography and provide an empirical understanding of how regions, and their respective states and territories, faired through the pandemic. Data and methods Using Australian Bureau of Statistics SA4 level labour force participation and unemployment data, the paper highlights regional changes between 2018 and 2021 - covering periods immediately before and after the emergence of COVID-19. Its analysis is contextualised by the respective state and territory and employment conditions underpinning labour demand via proxies of gross national product and state and territory gross product, gross real income and job vacancies. Results The paper finds variations in labour force change are dependent on regional industry economic profiles between and within states and territories. This was in part due to state and territory lockdown and border closure policies as well as respective industry economic profiles. Conclusions A more comprehensive mapping and understanding of labour force shifts over time will better capture the trajectories of regional labour markets. This will enable better targeting of specific policy outcomes at various levels of government, including to encourage industry diversity, support labour reskilling and the uptake of technologies. Such policies will be better placed to assist Australian labour force transitions post-COVID and efficient labour market functioning. PubDate: 2022-12-17 DOI: 10.37970/aps.v6i2.105 Issue No:Vol. 6, No. 2 (2022)
Authors:Tom Wilson, Frank Zou, Thomas Sigler Pages: 14 - 26 Abstract: Background The 2021 Census in Australia revealed that just over 1 million dwellings were ‘unoccupied’ on census night. This finding was widely reported and may have given the impression of a large number of vacant dwellings ready for households to move into, potentially offering a solution to homelessness and those struggling to find suitable or affordable accommodation. Aims The aim of the paper is to investigate whether there really were 1 million unoccupied dwellings in Australia in 2021, to shed some conceptual and empirical light on exactly what is meant by an ‘occupied’ and an ‘unoccupied’ dwelling, and also try to understand why dwellings were unoccupied. Data and methods We used a variety of census, population, and dwelling data to estimate the number of private dwellings disaggregated by occupancy on both a de facto basis (whether people were present in dwelling on census night or not) and on a usual residence basis (whether people are usually resident in a dwelling or not). A comparison with the situation at the time of the 2016 Census is made. Results The results show that there were indeed about 1 million dwellings unoccupied on a usual residence basis in Australia in 2021. But they were not the exact same 1 million unoccupied on census night, and not all of these dwellings were available to households to live in. There was a substantial increase in the number of dwellings unoccupied by usual residents between 2016 and 2021; we suggest some possible reasons for this, including Covid-related effects. Conclusions Greater clarity and more detail are needed in census dwelling data. In addition, it would be useful if there were detailed annual official statistics on dwellings and households to better inform housing policy and research. PubDate: 2022-12-17 DOI: 10.37970/aps.v6i2.106 Issue No:Vol. 6, No. 2 (2022)
Authors:Kim Johnstone Pages: 27 - 32 Abstract: This is an edited version of the APA Presidential address given by Dr Kim Johnstone, APA President, at the 20th Australian Population Association in Canberra on 23 November 2022. PubDate: 2022-12-17 DOI: 10.37970/aps.v6i2.107 Issue No:Vol. 6, No. 2 (2022)
Authors:Andrew Leigh Pages: 33 - 44 Abstract: This is an edited version of the W.D. Borrie lecture given by the Hon. Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, at the 20th Australian Population Association in Canberra on 23 November 2022. PubDate: 2022-12-17 DOI: 10.37970/aps.v6i2.108 Issue No:Vol. 6, No. 2 (2022)
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