The Economy, Stupid How COVID changed Australian jobs
Nov 20, 2025
Geoff Borland, a labour economist at the University of Melbourne, and Tom Crowley, an ABC federal political reporter, dive into the seismic shifts in Australia's job market post-COVID. They discuss the initial employment collapse, the rapid rebound, and how Australia fared better than other nations. A surprising 22% growth in non-market jobs is examined, highlighting the increased female participation in care roles. They also tackle the peculiar lack of wage growth despite a tight labour market, and offer practical jobseeker advice amidst ongoing changes.
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Jobs Became Harder To Find But Not Dire
- Australia went from one unemployed person per vacancy to two, making job-finding about half as easy as three years ago.
- The unemployment rate is still historically low compared with pre-COVID levels despite slowing job creation.
Australia An Outlier In Employment Recovery
- Australia's employment-to-population ratio stayed high while comparable countries fell, making it an outlier after COVID.
- The growth partly reflects expansion in care and health-related roles funded or encouraged by government policy.
Care And Public Roles Drove Job Growth
- Non-market sectors (health, education, public administration) grew far faster than market sectors after COVID.
- Without that growth we'd have about 700,000 fewer people employed by end of 2024.