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Highlights
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised the creation of additional jobs during a speech ahead of the Federal elections.
- PM Morrison has placed job creation at the centre of his electoral campaign.
- Opposition leader Anthony Albanese was caught in a slip up during the first full day of election campaigning.
As the Federal elections come nearer, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has placed job creation in the vanguard of his election campaign. In a recent speech, PM Morrison promised the creation of additional jobs that could take the economy back to the pre-pandemic levels.
Australia’s current unemployment rate of 4% is the lowest in over a decade, shoving through all odds seen in the last year. Unemployment rates near 4% were last seen in the early 2008 before the Global Financial Crisis.
It is worth noting that Australia has seen an oddly challenging set of months which saw a Delta-variant-induced lockdown, followed by rising Omicron cases and floods in the NSW and Queensland regions. Achieving declining unemployment during such times, let alone setting a record-low value, is a feat in itself.
However, many people still need jobs in the country, while a few others wish to shift to higher-paying jobs. This explains why PM Morrison has chosen jobs to be the central point of his campaign.
What did the Australian PM say about jobs?
PM Morrison highlighted the fact that even with geopolitical factors pitched against the country’s economic development, the government managed to bring down the unemployment rate to 13-year lows of 4%, from 5.7% when Labor left office in 2013. These challenges came in the form of “fires, floods, a pandemic, a global recession, economic coercion from China and now a war in Europe.”
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The Morrison government has set a target of additional 1.3 million jobs in the next five years. The plan is to focus on the labour markets to strengthen the economy overall. However, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has already forecasted that the unemployment rate might tip down to the 3% range by the end of 2023. The RBA’s predicted unemployment rate stands at 3.75%, higher than the forecast given by other market experts.
What’s the buzz around Anthony Albanese’s rate gaffe?
Anthony Albanese’s latest slip up caught headlines as the opposition Labor party leader could not remember the country’s unemployment rate on the first full day of Federal election campaigning. On being asked to state the national jobless rate by a reporter, Anthony Albanese stumbled, stating that the rate is 5%, before correcting himself and mentioning the correct rate of 4%.
The mistake by Albanese stood in stark contrast to the remarks given by PM Morrison when asked the same question. PM Morrison was aware of the economy and especially the unemployment rate as it is a crucial part of his campaign.
After the slip-up, Anthony Albanese also avoided answering questions related to the bank rate or the cash rate. Shortly afterwards, Albanese tried to redeem himself by stating that he is only human, and he owns up to his mistake. He stated, “Earlier today I made a mistake. I’m human,”. He also added, “But when I make a mistake, I will fess up to it and I will set about correcting that mistake.”
Did Budget 2022-23 focus on jobs?
The 2022-23 budget had especially focused on driving labour market growth and expanding the country’s labour force. Apart from the initial strategy of bringing the unemployment rate lower, the government is also committed to developing a skilled workforce in the future.
A funding boost of AU$3.7 billion for skills training in priority areas has been targeted under the National Skills Agreement. Additionally, a more generous apprenticeships incentive system would be developed. The budget also includes a push toward improving teachers’ skills to promote world-class education among students.
The budget also covers the following parameters among many other initiatives to promote employment sector strengthening:
- AU$ 2.2 billion worth of investment in collaboration and innovation to create more jobs.
- Cutting company tax rate for small businesses to 25% and introducing unincorporated small business tax discount with a lifted rate of 16% from 2021-22.
- Delivering AU$1.85 billion in cash flow support for 2.3 million taxpayers, including small businesses.
- Introducing rules for businesses with annual turnover or total income less than AU$5 billion to instantly write off assets to strengthen business investment and create jobs.
- Allowing businesses with annual turnover or total income less than AU$ 5 billion to offset losses against previously taxed profits to generate a refund and extend it to include the 2022-23 income year.
- Promoting a digital outlook for businesses.
- Launching Workforce Australia to provide businesses a one-stop-shop for employment assistance.
- Introducing a National Workforce Strategy to inform workforce policy across government.
- Reviving recovering industries and supporting priority sectors.
