Job mobility rates at highest levels in a decade

Almost one in every 10 Australian workers changed jobs in the 12 months to February this year, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals.

The new figures released today show that 9.5 percent or 1.3 million Australian workers changed their employer or business, the highest level in a decade.

ABS head of labour statistics, Bjorn Jarvis, said job mobility had slowed over the pandemic.

“Job mobility in Australia has generally been trending down for decades and reached a record low of 7.5 percent during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “While the 2023 figure might be higher, and is in fact the highest it’s been since the early 2010s, it’s still relatively low compared to earlier decades.”

While job mobility was highest among labourers, machinery operators and sales workers, Mr Jarvis said workers were more inclined to change industries than occupations.

“People were more likely to change their industry, at 58 per cent, than their occupation, which was 44 per cent, in the year ending in February 2023,” Mr Jarvis said.

Younger workers continued to represent the highest levels of those seeking new roles, with 14.9 of 15 to 24 year olds changing jobs. At the other end of the workforce, those in the 45 to 64 year old age bracket were less inclined to move, with 5.9 percent moving on from their previous job or business.

The ABS also found that there were 1.8 million Australians who identified as potential workers, including 510,000 unemployed people and 1.3 million not in the labour force.

SYDNEY—New Zealand’s inflation rate returned to within the central bank’s target band for the first time since early 2021 in the third quarter, opening a path to more supersized interest-rate cuts in coming months.

The inflation rate ran at an annual pace of 2.2% in the quarter, near the midpoint of the desired 1% to 3% target band, with some economists warning that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand must continue lowering the official cash rate at speed as a neutral policy rate is still well off in the distance.

The annual increase in inflation compares with a rise of 3.3% in the second quarter, StatsNZ said Wednesday. Inflation rose by 0.6% in quarterly terms.

The inflation data justifies the 75 basis points of cuts announced so far since August, with the RBNZ stepping up the pace of lowering the official cash rate last week by joining the Federal Reserve in slashing by 50 basis points.

Economists warn that there is a risk that inflation will undershoot the target band in coming quarters, especially if the RBNZ backs away from more significant cuts.

The official cash rate has so far fallen to 4.75% from 5.50%, with a neutral policy rate likely closer to 3.00%, according to economists.

New Zealand’s farm-rich economy has been in and out of recession for years as the RBNZ proved to be one of the more aggressive central banks globally when combating the inflation surge that emerged after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Economic activity remains flat and in need of resuscitation, especially with growth in China, its main trading partner, in a slowdown, economists said.

Higher rents were the biggest contributor to the annual inflation rate, up 4.5%. Almost a fifth of the annual increase in the consumer-price index was due to rent prices.

Prices for local authority rates and payments increased 12.2% in the 12 months to the third quarter, StatsNZ said. Prices for cigarettes and tobacco also rose sharply in line with an annual excise-tax increase.

Still, lower prices for gasoline and vegetables helped to offset rising prices, StatsNZ added.

Job mobility rates at highest levels in a decade

Having trouble finding and keeping staff? You’re not alone, new figures show

The inflation rate ran at an annual pace of 2.2% in the quarter compared with a rise of 3.3% in the second quarter