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Highlights
- As per the employment marketplace, there is a 55% y-o-y surge in the short-term jobs advertised.
- The country has also registered a monthly 20% increase in online shopping in August.
- The current status in the country is that government mandates are getting stringent, businesses are trying to take customers in confidence, and workers are protesting such moves.
Australia is moving towards its goal to reopen again after the second round of major lockdowns in the country. Corporates, independent business owners and retailers are all making attempts to resume operations whilst ensuring the safety of their employees and clients. These confident moves are a result of the hands-off approach taken by the government in their vaccine mandate.
Reopening is gathering momentum
As per the employment marketplace, there is a 55% y-o-y surge in the short-term jobs advertised. Projections from the Australian Retailer's Association say that the spending around Christmas would be close to $11 billion.
Supermarket big shots like Coles and Woolworths are on a hiring spree as they look forward to a demand surge. The former intends to add 7000 positions while the latter has advertised for 1000 roles. These numbers are expected to go up near the festive season when areas like NSW and Victoria would have no lockdowns. The optimistic projections are motored by numbers. The national postal service deliveries for the month have been higher than last year's Christmas season numbers. The country has also registered a monthly 20% increase in online shopping in August. Companies are stocking up to avoid shortages, and some have even opened new warehouses for the purpose. However, shortages are persisting from the manufacturers' side.
Related Read: Global semiconductor shortage may stretch to 2023
How do companies police vaccination?
Regardless of the business, whether retail, hospitality or entertainment, employers have a strict mandate that workers and patrons must be vaccinated. Some players like Westpac and Commonwealth Bank have set up vaccination points exclusively for their employees.
Various businesses are trying to manage to police vaccination for safety and customer confidence. For instance, Gig marketplace Airtasker has seen a surge in tasks from employers that are requesting for vaccinated service providers. The company has come up with the idea of a vaccination badge usable by entities that are using the platform. Being a marketplace built around trust creation among service providers and customers, Airtasker is proactive in this matter. All the members can apply for the badge and be enabled to make informed choices on whom to work with.
As per a vaccine mandate in Australia, construction works must have received at least a single jab before midnight of 23 September. Such mandates are not very welcome. On Tuesday this week, the government in Victoria called for a two-week shutdown in construction sites after anti-vaccine protests were launched in the Melbourne union offices.
Bottom Line
Experts project that the running quarter will also see low GDP numbers and recovery towards the end of the year. With government mandates getting stringent, businesses trying to take customers in confidence and workers protesting such moves, it would be interesting to see the runway to the festival season unravel.
Related Read: Anti-lockdown protests erupt in Melbourne even as COVID-19 cases spike
