Hey, great news! Australia’s unemployment rate fell by 0.4 per cent last month! Did you hear?
You didn’t? That’s funny. I was sure Joe would tell you.
What do you mean, it rose by 0.4 per cent? Oh, you’re talking about the ABS figure! Yeah, that’s bad, but if you look at what happened to the Roy Morgan unemployment rate, the news is really good: it’s fallen from 10.6 per cent to 10.2 per cent! If this keeps up, pretty soon unemployment in Australia will be below 10 per cent!
Huh? You thought it was 6.4 per cent — and that was bad? Actually, that would be really good if that were true.
Herein lies the problem with spin in economic data: sometimes the spin turns your way, sometimes it doesn’t. The ABS uses the internationally sanctioned definition of unemployment, which is similar to Tom Waits’ definition of being drunk: you have to be really, really out of it to qualify. Not only must you not be in employment, but you can’t have done even one hour of paid or unpaid in the four weeks prior to the survey. Nor can you be discouraged by the absence of available jobs either — you must have applied forsomething in the previous four weeks — and you must be available to start immediately.
Hands up all those who think they could survive on one hour’s paid work every four weeks? Thanks Eddie (and you too, Malcolm).
