According to a recent Deloitte Access Economics briefing, Australia is experiencing a two-speed job market, linked with the two-speed economy. Workforce participation in February 2012 was the lowest for nearly two years. Job losses were not confined to full-time work, which is often the case in a slowdown, but affected part-time workers as well, whereas on previous occasions when the labour market has taken a dive, there has actually been quite strong growth in part-time jobs. Full-time jobs in manufacturing and part-time jobs in the retail and tourism sector are dropping, but demand is strong in the mining and health care sectors, with overtime available on top of full-time work. Over 55-year-olds are well represented as plans for retirement are postponed due to the GFC’s impact on retirement savings.
