Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts

Thursday 12 May 2022

"Australia’s fun makers battle 300% insurance rise & Liberal Govt backflip on support" - Morrison & Co turn their backs on folk who add the sparkle to our country shows


Cardinal Spin, media release, 11 May 2022:











FURTHER RIDE STOPS PLANNED AT SHOWS ACROSS NSW & QLD


12.00pm Saturday May 14th


Australia’s fun makers battle 300% insurance rise & Liberal Govt backflip on support


Following a ride stop at Hawkesbury Show, Australia’s largest regional show, last weekend - attended by 150 Sydney industry protestors and their families – operators at Shows across New South Wales and Queensland will this Saturday May 14th stage another ride stop to highlight the catastrophic consequences of a failed insurance market which includes the escalation in insurance costs over the last twelve months and scarce availability, and to put the spotlight on the Morrison Government’s renege on promised support.


Shows that will be impacted by the planned fifteen minute ride stop, under the banner of the Australian Amusement, Leisure and Recreation Association (AALARA) and the Showmen’s Guilds of Australia include:


NSW


Bingara Show - 13th to 15th May


Coffs Harbour Show - 13th to 15th May


Bourke Show - 14th May


Orange Show - 14th to 15th May


Yeoval Show - 17th May


QLD


Gympie Show – 12th – 14th May


Ipswich Show – 13th – 15th May (Which includes ‘The Beast’, one of Australia’s $3 million rides)


Charleville Show – 12th – 14th May


Brookfield Show (Brisbane) – 13th – 15th May



The ride stop will happen at midday this Saturday.


And it’s not just travelling show ride operators who will be impacted. The rising insurance costs will also impact owners of trampoline parks, go kart tracks, ice rinks, bowling alleys, family entertainment centres, theme parks and more.


It’s a huge industry employing more than 7,000 people and contributing $1.84 billion to the economy annually that will be killed off if these insurance rises aren’t addressed and some support offered,” said President of the Australasian Showmen’s Guild, Aaron Pink.


We have ticked every box and jumped through every hoop the Liberal Government have asked of us to gain support – as we were advised the support would come if we followed the process, and yet it wasn’t included in the recent budget – and last week we received an official rejection. We did it all, and at a significant cost to our membership, and we’ve been left high and dry. Our insurance costs have gone up by an astronomical 300% in just twelve months which is totally unmanageable for our members, some unable to achieve any insurance. We’re talking about a lot of Ma and Pa operators who have struggled through Covid with mass cancellation of fairs, shows and attractions, as well as bushfires and floods. They don’t have the fund behind them to take on such a huge insurance cost increase, it’s just another kick in the guts from Government,” said AALARA President Shane McGrath.


Until last week Scott Morrison’s Government had been working with the peak industry bodies and commissioned ASBFEO to report into the proposed solution and make a recommendation.


The solution put forward was a Discretionary Mutual Fund, as recommend by Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Bilson. The Ombudsman’s forty-two-page report into the insurance crisis facing Australia’s amusement, leisure and recreation sector presented a clear argument for support of the struggling sector, saying ‘the clear and present danger is real’.


After working with the Federal Government for fourteen months on a solution we feel like they’ve just picked up the hammer from one of our high strikers and dropped it on us. If we can’t gain support this will mean the end of the line for thousands of people who work in our industry. And this will trickle down into the community. Imagine the Royal Easter Show or Ekka, or the hundreds of country shows without a sideshow alley and rides? Or iconic amusement parks like Luna Park or all the hundreds of local bowling alleys and family entertainment centres having to close their doors? The Government will effectively kill the fun for everyone if they don’t step up to help us find a solution. We all feel like they’ve taken us all for a ride,” added Shane McGrath.


Wednesday 13 April 2022

Australian federal election campaign 2022: employment promises


The 2022 federal election campaign has begun in earnest. Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison promises "to create1.3 million jobs over the next five years" [Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 2022] and Opposition Leader & Liberal MP for Grayndler Anthony Albanese pledges "to support a road map released by Tech Council Australia (TCA) to reach 1.2 million jobs in the industry within eight years" [NEWS.com.au, 24 March 2022].

Perhaps before considering competing promises and any future claims one should look back on employment and jobs growth year-to-year for the four years since that regime change occurred.


Australian Bureau of Statistics- ANZ Research: National Job Vacancies(work available), Unemployment, Underemployment & All Hours Worked



6 September 2018: 178,322 advertised jobs available in August prior to Morrison becomes prime minister 24 August 2018

Seasonally adjusted in August there were: 

est.12,631,300 people listed as employed; 

est. 708,800 listed as unemployed; 

the unemployment rate was 5.3% and underemployment rate was 8.1%.

Total hours worked all jobs that month - 1,750.9 million.

6 September 2019: 156,978 advertised jobs available in August

Seasonally adjusted in August there were:

est. 12,926,900 people listed as employed; 

est. 716,800 people listed as unemployed; 

the unemployment rate was 5.3% and underemployment rate was 8.6%;

Total hours worked that month - 1,782.6 million.

Compared to August 2018 there were fewer available jobs, more people listed as unemployed and the underemployment rate was higher. More people were recorded as being in employment and national hours worked had risen.

7 February 2020: 149,544 advertised jobs available for January pre-COVID

Seasonally adjusted in January there were:

12,988,400 people listed as employed; 

725,500 people registered as unemployed

the unemployment rate was 5.3% and underemployment rate was 8.6%.

Total all hours worked that month - 1,778 million.

6 September 2020: 109,103 advertised jobs available in August

Seasonally adjusted in August there were: 

12,583,400 people listed as employed

921,800 people registered as unemployed

the unemployment rate was 6.8% and underemployment rate was 11.2%.

Total all hours worked that month - 1,683 million.

Compared to August 2019 there were fewer jobs available, less people were in employment, more people unemployed, the underemployment rate was higher and national hours worked had  fallen.


6 September 2021: 195,995 advertised jobs available in August

Seasonally adjusted in August there were:

13,022,600 people listed as employed; 

617,100 people listed as unemployed

the unemployment rate was 4.5% and underemployment rate was 9.3%;

Total all hours worked all jobs that month - 1,714 million.

Compared to August 2020 there were more jobs available, more people in employment, less people unemployed, the underemployment rate was lower and national hours worked had risen.


Between August 2018 and August 2021 all cited indicators fluctuated. However, by the end of that four year month-to-month comparison: the number of available jobs had risen by 17,673 in a resident population which had grown by est. 570,000 persons; people in employment had increased by 391,300; the unemployment rate was 0.8% lower; the underemployment rate1.2% higher; and national hours worked had fallen by 36.9 million.

4 March 2022: 228,170 advertised jobs available in February 

In February there were: 

13,372,000 people listed as employed

563,300 people registered as unemployed

seasonally adjusted the unemployment rate was 4.0% and underemployment rate 6.6%. 

Total all hours worked that month - 1,183 million. Most recent ABS data for 2022


Definitions


  • Any person in the labour force who did paid work or who was only temporarily absent from paid work is considered employed
  • Any person in the labour force who didn't do paid work and wasn't temporarily absent from paid work is considered unemployed.
  • Any unemployed person who is no longer looking for work is considered not participating in the national labour force.
  • Any person in paid employment who is not fully employed and is looking for and/or available to start work with more hours is considered to be underemployed.


SOURCES

https://media.anz.com/search-results?key=job+ad

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour


Wednesday 9 March 2022

NSW North Coast Local Land Services is looking for a full-time Emergency Management Coordinator in March 2022


Given the adverse weather events currently being experienced across Northern NSW and climate change promising more unwelcome experiences to come, I'm not sure whether this would be considered an enviable job......


Echo, 8 March 2022:


So, you think you can manage an emergency?

Lismore flood. Photo Darren Bridge


All over the Northern Rivers, amateur crisis response co-ordinators have filled a vacuum left by under-resourced and under-prepared official agencies.


Most community volunteers have felt little other choice and getting paid for the pleasure of helping their neighbours is unlikely to enter their minds.


But doesn’t hard work deserve decent pay? Like, around the $100K mark?


Perhaps it’s time we reconsidered a disaster response system based largely on volunteerism, especially when studies in recent years show fewer and fewer Australians have time to volunteer thanks to work and family pressures.


Emergency work in paradise 

Live and work in Paradise! Photo supplied.


Enter: the NSW government’s Emergency Management Coordinator.


It’s a newly advertised position with a starting salary of around $99K plus super.


An ad for the full time Local Land Services job position earlier this week said it included responsibility for the central & North Coasts including Newcastle, the Hunter Valley, Port Macquarie, Lismore and the Far North Coast.


The job location was negotiable, the ad said…..


The Emergency Management Coordinator would have to be adept at ‘functioning in an operating environment of change where risks and issues require challenging responses’, the ad read.


Other requirements for the role were:

  • demonstrated experience in emergency response management situations;
  • an ability to negotiate with stakeholders and customers;
  • an ability to plan and make recommendations with respect to preparedness for, response to and recovery from biosecurity and natural disaster emergencies impacting landholders;
  • previous experience in managing and undertaking a range of projects and associated activities with a view to achieving outcomes.


The successful candidate also needed a current NSW Driver License and an ‘ability and willingness to travel throughout the North Coast Region, including overnight stays’, the ad read.


The new Emergency Management Coordinator would have to report to the government’s ‘Team Leader Partnerships’, form productive relationships with regional stakeholders and provide advice to landholders.......


Monday 21 February 2022

In an election year all incumbent governments tend to casually toss around figures which paint rosy pictures. Given the growing reputation of the Morrison Government, perhaps it is wise to at least start off with reliable labor force, cost of living, consumer confidence & job numbers for the first month of 2022 in Australia & New South Wales


 

The first labor force and household economy breakdowns of 2022.


Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), LABOR FORCE: Headline estimates of employment, unemployment, underemployment, participation and hours worked from the monthly Labour Force Survey, January 2022 – released 17 February 2022:


Key statistics

Seasonally adjusted estimates for January 2022:


  • Unemployment rate stood at 4.2%

580,000 unemployed - up from 574,400 in December 2021.

  • Participation rate increased to 66.2%

Up from 66.1% in December 2021. However, participation decreased by 0.4 pts for men to 70.4% and increased by 0.6 pts to 62.1% for women

  • Employment increased to 13,255,000

An increase of 12,900 people or 0.1% since December 2021.

Full-time employment decreased by 17,000 to 9,077,300 people, and part-time employment increased by 30,000 to 4,177,600 people. Part time employed made up 31.5% of all employment.

  • Employment to population ratio increased to 63.4%

Up 0.3% since December 2021.

  • Underemployment rate increased to 6.7%

Up from 6.6% in December 2021.

  • Monthly hours worked decreased by 159 million hours

A decrease of 8.8% (in seasonally adjusted terms) between December 2021 and January 2022.


In New South Wales in January 2022


  • Unemployment rate stood at 4.2%

Up 0.2% from December 2021

  • Participation rate stood at 64.8%

A 0.2% fall since December 2021.

  • Employment stood at 4,137,200

A 0.2% fall since December 2021.

Full time employment fell by 27,100 people and part time employment fell by 42,100 people. Part time employment made up est. 29% of all employment.

  • Employment to population ratio fell to 58.2%

Down from 58.4% since December 2021.

  • Underemployment rate increased to 6.4%

Up from 6.2% in December 2021.

  • Monthly hours worked deceased by est. 78.18 million hours.

Going from 578,333.6 hours in December 2021 to 500,148.7 hours in January 2022.



ANZ Job Ads report, 7 February 2022:


ANZ Australian Job Ads fell 0.3 per cent in January following a downwardly revised 5.8 per cent drop in December. Despite the surge in Omicron cases, Job Ads remained 9.6 per cent above the Delta-lockdown lows. 



Based on ABSCost Price Index - Weighted average of eight capital cities, All groups - going into January 2022:


In December Quarter 2021 the Cost Price Index totalled 121.3 - a rise of 1.3% on the September Quarter. The 5 Selected Living Cost Indexes (LCIs) having risen for all 5 household types. 


In the period 1 January to 31 December 2022 the LCI rise across all categories was between 2.6% and 3.4%:


  • Transport was the main contributor for all five population sub-groups, with the price of Automotive fuel rising 32%.

  • The Age pensioner household sub-group had the highest annual increase (+3.4%). Food makes up a higher proportion of this sub-group compared to the others. This household group also had the highest annual increase in housing costs.

  • The Employee household sub-group had the lowest annual increase (+2.6%) due to Mortgage interest charges falling over the year. Excluding Mortgage interest charges, this household group would have risen 3.1%.



Based on ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence: 


17-23 January 2022

 Australia - 101.1 up 2.2%, rising above the neutral level of 100 but dropping in NSW by -2.4%.

14-30 January 2022

Australia - 101.8 up 1.7% and, after three weeks of decline in NSW state consumer confidence rose to 6.2%.


Monday 12 October 2020

Morrison Government ignores the "Pink Recession" in Budget 2020-21

 

"Women drive on roads. They will benefit from our infrastructure spend" [in Budget 2020-21]. [Senator Michaelia Cash, Channel 10 clip in The Project program, 8 October 2020]


The Guardian, 8 October 2020:


The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is angry with women. Not all of us, just those making a fuss about the woeful lack of attention to women’s workforce participation, economic security and safety in the budget his treasurer handed down on Tuesday night.


After early childhood education advocate and journalist Georgie Dent published an article in Women’s Agenda pointing out that the biggest-spending budget in history had allocated roughly a third of 1% of its funds for women’s economic security (citing a figure I tweeted from the Per Capita account during the budget presentation on Tuesday night), she received a call from the PM’s office to complain that “no one credible” was making such a complaint, and that “nothing in the budget is gendered”.


To quote one famous working woman: big mistake. Big. Huge.


Within a couple of hours, the hashtag #CredibleWomen was born, and soon trending in Australia. Twenty-four hours later, more than 1,000 very angry, and highly credible, women and men had joined the fray, including prominent journalists and commentators, business leaders, former federal politicians, economists and sociologists, and even the family members of former prime ministers, both Labor and Liberal. So much for no one credible.


As for the claim that nothing in the budget was gendered – that’s the point. Proudly declaring that no gender analysis was done on the budget reveals a disturbing ignorance of the inherent bias in our economic system, and a fundamental confusion between the concepts of equality and equity. A budget that treats everyone equally, ignoring the fact that women start from a place of significant disadvantage on almost every meaningful economic measure, simply entrenches gender inequality and, in light of the disproportionate impact of the current recession on women, actually risks sending us backwards.


The fact is, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic collapse have hit women particularly hard. While previous recessions were typified by declining aggregate demand for manufactured goods and services, the current downturn is marked by a partial or total shutdown of many service industries, which are dominated by female workers.


Social distancing restrictions have resulted in an unparalleled collapse in demand, which has had an immediate impact on sectors of the market unused to bearing the brunt of economic shocks, with widespread jobs losses in retail, entertainment and hospitality. Universities, too, are shedding jobs at an alarming rate, and many of the jobs in research, teaching and administration that have been lost will not return even if and when international students do.


As a result, unemployment for women in this Covid-induced economic collapse is double that of the 1990s recession. While women suffered roughly 25% of all job losses in the early 1990s, they account for more than 50% of the newly unemployed today.


A budget that treats everyone equally ... simply entrenches gender inequality”


Yet the Morrison government seems to have failed to come to grips with the different nature of this recession compared to previous downturns, or to have grasped the significant changes in our labour market over the three decades since Australia last faced the task of rebuilding a shattered economy. The budget released on Tuesday night was a fine plan for recovery from the recession of the early 1990s, but not so much for the one we face today…..


The full article can be read here.


BACKGROUND


According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labor Force original data, in December 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic had entered the country, the female workforce participation rate was 61.6 per cent and total number of unemployed females was 295,100 individuals.


A Parliamentary Budget Report found that 56 per cent of those unemployed females were women aged 45 years and older.


By end of August 2020 the female workforce participation rate was 59.7 per cent - a 3 per cent participation fall. While the unemployment figure had grown to 418,600 females of working force age – a 29 per cent increase in unemployment.


In December 2019 the male workforce participation rate was 71.4 per cent and the total number of unemployed males was 371,600 individuals.


Of these unemployed males 45 per cent were men aged 45 years and older.


By end of August 2020 male workforce participation rate was 69.4 per cent a 3 per cent  participation fall. While the unemployment figure has risen to 503,000 males of working force age - a 26 per cent increase in unemployment. 


Comparing total females and males who considered themselves underemployed between December 2019 and August 2020:


  • Underemployed females totalled 690,200 workers in December 2019 and 753,200 workers in August 2020 - an est. 9 per cent increase in underemployment over the 9 month period; and
  • Underemployed males totalled 503,000 workers in December 2019 and 723,300 workers in August 2020 - an est. 31 per cent increase in underemployment.

Females in employment worked a combined total of 736,643,500 hours in December 2019 and a total of 702,547,200 hours in August 2020 - an est. 5 per cent fall in hours worked. 


Males in employment worked a combined total of 1,044,184,200 hours in December 2019 and a total of 980,844,400 hours in August 2020 - an est. 6 per cent fall.


When breaking that down further by looking at the percentage of females who had between 35-44 hours paid work a week it was 32.1% of all employed females, with another 19.8 per cent working less than 20 hours. While for males receiving 34-44 hours of paid work a week it was 42.1 per cent of all employed males, with another 11.1 per cent working under 20 hours a week.


Overall since the impact of the COVID-19 begun to be felt both males and females experienced swings and roundabouts when it came to employment. 


However, compared with men, over the last decade a higher proportion of unemployed women are now either older women, have a reduced capacity to work, are carers or sole parents. 


While the bottom line is that despite the JobKeeper subsidised wage program, at the end of the last 9 months there are still more females out of work than there are males in the same predicament and more employed females than males with less than a full week's work.


When it came to ABS records for industry sectors with the highest job losses year-to-year it was clear highest losses occurred in sectors with traditionally high female employment levels:


JUNE 2019 to JUNE 2020


Accommodation - jobs down 25.5 per cent

Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services - jobs down 15.6 per cent

Clubs, pubs, taverns and bars - jobs down 15.6 per cent

Tourism - jobs down 15.1 per cent

Travel agency and information centre services - 17.9 per cent

Retail Trade - jobs down 9.0 per cent.


Tourism jobs peaked at 748,200 in December 2019 and in June 2020 were at the lowest level (611,700) since June 2014. More females work in tourism than males so there were more jobs lost by females with a reduction of 88,100 (-21.5%) jobs compared to a fall of 48,300 (-14.3%) for males.


The Australian Treasury is reportedly predicting that unemployment will remain high for several years, but that it will peak at 8% in the December quarter of 2020. However, indications are that unemployment will not fall below 5 per cent until sometime after 2024.  


It is statistics such as these which have led to political commentators dubbing the current economic recession In Australia, the "pink recession" or "shecession".


Terms with which Scott Morrison appears to take great exception. Women it seems are never to speak up on economic matters unless it is to agree with his world view.


According to Taylor Fry Consulting Actuaries' research, by 29 August 2020 in the Clarence Valley the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was rated "Medium" for most of the valley but at the upper end of "High" was Maclean-Iluka-Yamba which are heavily dependent on tourism.


As it is for Byron Bay where the impact was also rated at the upper limit of "High", while the remainder of the Northern Rivers region was at the lower limit of "High" with the exception of Kyogle and Casino which were rated "Medium".


In 2019 the NSW Northern Rivers region had a resident population of est. 304,325 people with a high number of older residents. In fact at the last Census around 133,332 were aged between 50 and 100 years of age.


In 2020 the Northern New South Wales Local Health District data indicated that females made up 49.22 per cent of the regional population - with est. 30 per cent of that regional population being females of workforce age.


That's an awful lot of Northern Rivers women Scott Morrison & his Cabinet have chosen to brush aside in the worst recession in 30 years.


Wednesday 29 July 2020

More than 60 per cent of businesses in Byron Bay are now relying on JobKeeper to stay afloat


The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 July 2020:

In Byron Bay, sales of a $9.30 large green G-Force smoothie reveal how the COVID-19 wave has dumped on the NSW tourist town. 


In good times, with 2.4 million visitors a year ranging from backpackers to festival goers and others looking for yoga, surf and a healthy lifestyle, Byron can support six smoothie businesses. 

One of them, Sweet Byron, would sell 19 of these large green smoothies a day.   

Then coronavirus hit, forcing the closure of domestic and international borders. Byron's foreign visitors dried up, and its English language schools nearly emptied. 

 COVID-19 caused the cancellation of weddings and events such as the Writers Festival and the Splendour in the Grass misic festival, which usually provide a boost in the slow winter months. 

Ninety per cent of shops, hotels and restaurants in the town closed. When they reopened before school holidays, the streets were empty and Sweet Byron was lucky if it sold two Gforce Smoothies. 

Those students and backpackers who had remained headed north when the Queensland border re-opened earlier this month. 

More than 60 per cent of businesses in Byron are now relying on JobKeeper to stay afloat, according to a map by data analytics company Taylor Fry released last week

This is the most in any local government area in Australia and double the number in capital cities. 

Without JobKeeper Mika Cohen, the owner of the Sweet Byron smoothie shop, said his business wouldn't survive. 

Smoothie sales bounced back during the recent school holidays after coronavirus travel restrictions lifted and the town filled with families who followed the sun north. 

Mr Cohen was back to selling 8 Gforce Smoothies a day, still less than half the number he sold pre-COVID. 

With nearly all of Byron's economy tied to tourism, hospitality and the creative arts, Byron mayor Simon Richardson said the pandemic has delivered a "triple whammy". 

"It is really dangerous times for us," he said. 

Hotel bookings looked healthy for summer, but if the town doesn't get that "fattening" he feared it could "lurch into real danger". 

Hotel owner Christian Millett said Byron had been a stable market all year long, in the past. But after coronavirus shut down weddings and festivals, Mr Millett said he would not have been been able to justify keeping his doors open outside of school holidays if he wasn't receiving JobKeeper.....

Taylor Fry's analysis found smaller firms in retail, hospitality, manufacturing and construction sectors are especially dependent on JobKeeper to retain their staff...... 

When the tourism dried up, it affected the rest of the region with "all the pork and tomatoes, macadamia and the mueslis which aren't being bought".

Cr Richardson said there was a "false sense of affluence" associated with Byron because of its multimillion-dollar beach houses and movie-star residents like Chris Hemsworth. 

"For every $10 million house at Wattegos Beach there are 10 homes that are in some of the poorest areas in NSW," he said. 

Four areas in the LGA are among the most disadvantaged 20 per cent in Australia, and two are among the most affluent..... 

Rents are also high, and Cr Richardson said he has seen more people couch surfing after losing their jobs. A shopkeeper said his landlord wanted to restore rents to pre-COVID levels after providing discounts earlier: "In this time, we can't afford the full rent for the premises ... because there are 60 to 40 per cent fewer tourists." 

Taylor Fry's principal Alan Greenfield said without JobKeeper he was nervous about the future of regional tourist towns, especially if restrictions on travel continued. "If locals can't see a future where they live, they might be inclined to move away." 

Simon Westaway, the executive director of the Australian Tourism Industry Council, said the impact of COVID-19 on his 10,000 members had been "diabolical". Unlike other industries, it had been hard for tourist operators to "pivot" to other business. 

Even if people could travel, the impact of continuing uncertainty over jobs and rising mortgage stress – estimated to grow to $200 billion from $60 billon now – meant visitors were not necessarily buying the most expensive "smoothie". 

"You put all these figures together, and you go wowie kazowie, who is in a mindset to have a decent holiday? Let alone if you are allowed out [by governments]. " 

Although business was down now, surf school director and founder of Let's Go Surfing Brenda Miley said Byron was an aspirational place that will bounce back. "Everyone wants to go there. It is well worn trek from Bondi to Byron, and that all came together last school holidays." 

 She thinks it will be booked out next summer if government restrictions on travel aren't in place. "People who were planning to go skiing in Colorado or France are so happy to go to Byron and surf for a week or two," she said.

Percentage of NSW Northern Rivers Businesses relying on JobKeeper Payments by Local Government Area - as of 22 July 2020 

  • Byron 60.39%
  • Tweed 47.79%
  • Ballina 39.56%
  • Clarence Valley 34.52%
  • Lismore 35.05%
  • Richmond Valley 27.45%
  • Kyogle 21.3%