The Centre for Future Work publishes progressive economic research on work, employment & labour markets. Director Jim Stanford. Project of @TheAusInstitute.
Mar 8, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
The idea of privatising Sydney's water system has sparked fears among residents. And based on experience of other jurisdictions with private water, that concern is justified. See our new report today on the social & economic costs of private water: futurework.org.au/report/the-fis… /2
In the rush to pay out dividends & capital gains, private water monopolies load up on debt, reduce capital spending & pay huge interest costs (which regulators allow them to pass on to water users). Most worrisome are the health risks that come with staff cuts & cost-cutting. /3
Mar 7, 2023 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
On #IWD2023 research by @ElizaLittleton and @GrogsGamut find that pay gaps cost women at least $1m over their working life and $137,000 in lower super australiainstitute.org.au/report/the-tim…
Using the taxation data they find that men earn more than women in 95% of all occupations, but it is not just because more men work in those jobs. In occupation where women make up more than 60% of all workers, men still earn more in 86% of them
Mar 7, 2023 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Here's our @JimboStanford in @ConversationEDU with more on the role of corporate pricing strategies in leading recent inflation: theconversation.com/underlying-aus…. Amidst social, economic & public health crisis, business has literally never had it better. #ProfitPriceSpiral /2
Claims businesses are mere intermediaries in inflation (simply passing on higher costs to consumers) are disproved by the growth in corporate profits. Corp revenue has grown $160b/yr more than corp costs. Yet RBA still obsesses about wage growth & demands more real wage cuts. /3
Feb 23, 2023 • 13 tweets • 6 min read
In a week when Coles, Woolworths, ComBank, Qantas & Ampol all reported huge profits, the ABS confirmed workers' real wages fell faster than any year in history. What gives??
It's called a 'profit-price spiral'.
Our new report explains what's happening: futurework.org.au/report/profit-… /2
Author @JimboStanford used ABS data to decompose economy-wide inflation into its component parts.
No surprise: corporate profits grew far faster than any other form of income (3x faster than wages for each unit of output).
Corporates' share of GDP is up 3.2 %pts since COVID. /3
May 14, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Does anyone actually believe the unemployment rate was just 6.2% last month?? Don't. All that number proves is how irrelevant the official unemployment rate has become. Let's walk through the math: ...2 @unionsaustralia#ausecon#ABS#LFS
Official unemployment increased by just 105,000 people. Not too bad, right? Wrong. 500,000 people lost work but 'left' the labour force. Why? To be included in the labour force, you must be available for work and actively seeking it. What was the point of that in April? ...3
Mar 30, 2020 • 21 tweets • 4 min read
THREAD: The Australian government’s announcement of a huge program to support wage payments by employers through the coming COVID-19 recession is important, and will significantly moderate the employment and income consequences of the pandemic...2
The government has reversed its initial opposition to the concept. This is a tribute to the effective lobbying and organising of many stakeholders, in particular the efforts of the ACTU @unionsaustralia ...3
Nov 14, 2019 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
There's only one word to describe today's #ABS jobs report: UGLY. 19,000 jobs lost: the worst of any month in over 3 years. Job losses in every category: full-time, part-time, men, women. Another decline in total hours worked: the 4th since April...2
Unemployment rate up again: to 5.32%, highest in 2 years. Unemployment rate has risen 0.4 points since Feb. Would have been worse, except for another fall in the participation rate: down for the 6th time this year. That means people are giving up looking...3
