As the Morrison Government prepares to cut JobKeeper, new ABS figures confirm what Australians already know – the recovery from the worst recession in a century is patchy, and without the right economic supports too many workers will be left behind.

While the IMF’s new World Economic Outlook Update says prospects for global growth have improved, it still expects the international economy will be characterised by risk and uncertainty associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Again today the Treasurer has been sprung exaggerating the number of jobs flowing from his hiring credits program, which is only expected to create around 45,000 jobs and not the 450,000 he has claimed. 

One of the reasons household savings have been higher than usual is because many people have been reacting to a lot of uncertainty.

New data shows a welcome increase in jobs, concentrated in Victoria where 80 per cent of new jobs were created, but more than 2.2 million Australians are still looking for work or more hours as the patchy recovery continues.

New ABS figures confirm that more than two hundred thousand jobs still haven’t “come back”.

The RBA has today confirmed in its December Bulletin that the Morrison Government’s hiring credit scheme will not help many of the people worst affected by long-term unemployment.

Nearly two years after the Banking Royal Commission’s final report, the Morrison Government has introduced legislation that will dismantle consumer protections, abandoning the report’s first recommendation.

It is disappointing that the uncertainty and delay around the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code will continue into 2021.