Bill Shorten: Negative immigration behind Australia’s stunning jobs market

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Yesterday evening, former Labor leader and shadow minister for the NDIS and government services, Bill Shorten, admitted that Australia’s stunning jobs market – the best in generations – has been driven by the collapse in immigration over the pandemic:

Rafael Epstein: We do have a remarkable number today: the lowest unemployment rate since 1974… Do the government get any credit for that?

Bill Shorten: I’m pleased that people are finding work… But I think a big driver of the current numbers though is the fact that we don’t have a lot of visa workers coming into Australia because of COVID. So, do I think this is all the government’s economic genius? No I don’t.

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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.