Even though the unemployment rate is still as high as it was during the mining bust, job vacancies and the share of firms reporting staff shortages have surged. We suspect that this has been driven by a broad-based drop in labour mobility during the pandemic and net migration turning from a large boost to labour force growth to a small drag. As vaccines are rolled out and restrictions are relaxed, the functioning of the labour market should improve. But coupled with our optimistic forecasts for unemployment, firms’ inability to find suitable staff means that wage growth could rebound faster than most anticipate.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services