"The government-funded jobs boom accelerated in 2024, concealing the underlying weakness in Australia's private sector labour market," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of national employer association the Australian Industry Group, said today.
Ai Group analysis of today's employment data shows that of the 484,000 new jobs created in 2024, only 99,000 were in the private market sector. 80% of job creation was in either the public sector or non-market sectors, both of which depend on government-funding for employment generation.
Public sector jobs surged by 164,000 in 2024, nearly three times the increase of 2023. While the non-market sector moderated slightly, it still accounts for nearly half of new jobs in Australia.
"This analysis shows that the Australian labour market is far weaker than headline unemployment numbers suggest. The private sector has struggled to create jobs for two years, with government-supported employment filling the gap," Mr Willox said.
"This is plainly unsustainable. We cannot have the private market sector – which provides two-thirds of employment in Australia – failing to fire. Nor can the taxpayer continue to fund job creation indefinitely given the mounting fiscal deficits facing federal and state governments.
"This problem should be at the forefront of minds going into the federal election. The incoming Australian government must make restarting the private sector engine of job creation its immediate priority," Mr Willox said.
