McKinsey has warned that a second wave of COVID-19 induced job losses could affect between 270,000 and 640,000 Australian workers by March.
The consulting firm expects sectors such as retailing and construction to be hardest hit as government support measures are scaled back.
McKinsey forecasts that an additional 215,000 jobs could be lost in the retail sector by March, on top of the 42,000 that were shed in the June quarter. The construction sector in turn faces the loss of up to 205,000 jobs by March, having shed 46,000 jobs in the three months to June:
