Déjà vu as ACTU decries ‘pink’ jobs recession

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During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia’s media and left-leaning think tanks were jumping up and down over the purported “pink recession” – the notion that women were being disproportionately impacted by the crisis.

This “pink recession” claim originated from social and economic commentator George Megalogenis, who pointed out that unlike the 1990s recession in which men lost 85% of the jobs, and the 1980s recession in which they lost 76% of the jobs, more than half of the direct workforce victims this time around were female.

The claim later proved false when data showed that males had actually experienced the greater job and wage losses.

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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.