New research from The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work estimates that Australian workers are currently working an average of 4.6 hours of unpaid overtime each week, which translates to 6 weeks of full time work without pay, per employee, per year – with an annual worth of $81.5 billion for Australian employers. The Centre’s

There is a contradiction between Australian macroeconomic policy—which deliberately maintains unemployment at 5% or higher—and a culture that blames unemployed people for their own unemployment and hardships. New research from the Centre for Future Work shows that there is no statistical evidence for the long-held assumption that if unemployment falls below its so-called “natural” or

New research shows active strategies to directly link university degrees to a job are needed, to better support university graduates as they negotiate a rapidly changing labour market. The report, by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work, shows that employment outcomes for university graduates have deteriorated significantly since the Global Financial Crisis, with only

Prime Minister Scott Morrison claims that the pace of job creation under the Coalition Government – 1.1 million net new jobs in 5 years – is an achievement, however, the actual amount of new work added in the economy has not even kept up with population growth. New analysis of labour market performance released today

Collective bargaining in private sector workplaces could be almost extinct by 2030 under current rules, new research from the Centre for Future Work shows. Australia’s enterprise bargaining system is rapidly crumbling in private sector workplaces, according to dramatic findings from a report released today by the Centre. Key Findings the number of current enterprise agreements

For the third consecutive quarter, the share of Australian GDP paid out in wages, salaries and superannuation contributions to workers has shrunk.  Data for the September quarter of 2018, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, shows that labour compensation accounted for just 46.85% of total economic output – one of the lowest

The 10th annual ‘Go Home On Time Day’ report by The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work estimates that Australian employees will work 3.2 billion hours of unpaid overtime for their employers this year, worth an estimated $106 billion in foregone wages. A national survey undertaken as part of the report has shown that the average Australian

A potent tool for cleaning up misconduct in the industry is being overlooked by the Royal Commission into financial services. The Centre for Future Work has proposed to the Commission that a system of sector-wide collective bargaining in the financial industry could establish clear and ethical benchmarks for compensation, avoiding the problem of ‘conflicted remuneration’, which is

As corporate profits continue to climb, new research from the Centre for Future Work shows the share of Australian GDP paid out to workers is hovering at a post-war low. The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work has today published a new research symposium documenting how workers’ slice of the national economic pie continues to

Reduced Sunday and holiday penalty rates for retail and hospitality workers failed to ignite the boom in employment as promised by employer groups who supported the change. A new report Penalty Rates and Employment One Year Later from The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Wor examined employment and working hours in the retail and hospitality

After years of decline, Australia’s manufacturing industry is finally recovering – adding almost 50,000 jobs in the last year, one of the best job-creation records of any sector in the whole economy. But that recovery could be cut short by growing shortages of skilled workers, according to a new report on vocational training in manufacturing.

For the first time on record, less than half of employed Australians hold a ‘standard job’: that is, a permanent full-time paid job with leave entitlements. A new report by the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute, The Dimensions of Insecure Work: A Factbook, looks at the growing insecurity of work in Australia. The

Australia’s state and federal governments could help solve the problem of stagnant wages by better leveraging their own spending power. New research from the Centre for Future Work at The Australia Institute demonstrates a strong connection between government spending and working conditions across the economy. “Weak labour market conditions, including record-weak wage growth, could be

A report released today by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work shows Western Australia’s recent budget deficit is the result – not the cause – of deteriorating economic conditions. Contrary to calls for fiscal austerity and public sector downsizing, being made in response to the emergence of fiscal deficits in WA, the report showed

Ahead of a national manufacturing summit, a new report outlines the industry’s dogged resilience in difficult times, its importance to the Australian economy, and its more hopeful future prospects. The report, A Moment of Opportunity (download full report pdf below), identifies several indicators which suggest that the economic opportunities for domestic manufacturing have improved significantly. 

Analysis from The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work has shown that proposals for phasing in lower penalty rates for work on Sundays and holidays will not “protect” the workers affected by those cuts, and in some cases would make things worse. [Full report in attachement below] Simulations of various proposals from political and business

The Fair Work Commission’s decision to reduce penalty rates for Sundays and holidays in retail and hospitality jobs will reinforce wage stagnation and further widen income inequality, which is bad news for the economy as a whole, according to Dr. Jim Stanford, Director of the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute. “It’s painfully

As the Senate continues to debate the proposed Australian Building and Construction Commission, new research from the Centre for Future Work challenges the government’s claim that construction labour costs have pushed up Australian housing prices. Prime Minister Turnbull blamed construction workers and their union for the high cost of housing, when he re-introduced the ABCC

23 November 2016 is National Go Home On Time Day, an initiative which encourages employers and employees to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy work-life balance. “This year, Go Home On Time Day will focus on the need for Australian workers to be entitled to, and to feel safe in taking their holiday