The solution to skills shortages is higher wages

Advertisement

According to data from the National Skills Commission, published today in The Australian, 21% of employers intend to hire additional staff in the next three months. However, 39% of employers that sought to hire extra workers in the four weeks to 19 February reported difficulties in doing so.

Separate data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that 13% of employers were “significantly” affected by staff shortages in mid-February.

The Morrison Government has used concerns around skills shortages as an excuse to drop JobSeeker to the poverty level of $44 a day, as well as the introducing the ‘dob a dole bludger’ hotline, in order to force the 1.2 million unemployed Australians into work:

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:
Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe
About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.