Treasurer 2024 Winter Sitting Question Time Briefs (qtbs)

Written by Claude Haiku 4.5 from the extracted text on 28 Feb 2026. It can miss or misread redacted and scanned pages. Check the source before relying on it.

This Question Time Brief prepared for the Treasurer in July 2024 presents labour market analysis showing resilience despite emerging softening. The unemployment rate stood at 4.0% in May 2024 (low by historical standards), with 877,800 jobs created since the Albanese Government took office. Wage growth reached 4.1% in the March quarter 2024, exceeding 4% for three consecutive quarters for the first time in 15 years, with annual real wage growth at 0.5%—the strongest since September 2020. However, Treasury forecasts indicate the unemployment rate will rise to 4.5% by June quarter 2025 as economic activity slows. Job advertisements and vacancies are easing from 2022 peaks, and wage growth is forecast to moderate to 3.25% in 2024-25. Recent wage growth was attributed to the Fair Work Commission's 3