Jobs and doctor visits go as RBA war on inflation cuts deep

In a sign of the churn facing the labor market, 71 percent of businesses plan to hire staff.

Institute chief executive Sarah McCann-Bartlett said businesses could reorganize their operations while also recruiting for existing or new roles.

“Either way, 2024 looks like a more challenging year for employers and workers,” he said.

Deloitte Access Economics also expects the job market to stumble due to the Reserve Bank’s aggressive monetary policy since last May.

It forecasts that the country will create just 75,000 jobs next year, after adding more than 405,000 this year.

Deloitte partner David Rumbens said the job market is entering a “cool summer” as the combination of high interest rates and high inflation weighs on consumers and their retirement plans. expenditure.

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He said the manufacturing sector could shed 4 percent of its workforce, or nearly 39,000 positions, while the wholesale trade sector faces the loss of 11,200 workers in the coming year.

“Given the high share of blue-collar workers in the manufacturing industry, blue-collar workers will likely bear the brunt of the labor market slowdown,” Rumbens said.

The increase in unemployment will add to the financial pressures facing many Australians, who are now putting off medical treatments because of the costs.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday the proportion of people who needed to see a GP but delayed or missed seeing their doctor because of the cost had doubled in the past year – from 3.5 per cent in 2021-22 to 7 per cent in 2022-23. At the same time, GPs reported their average fee for a typical visit jumped from $64 last year to $75 this year.

The rate of people missing or delaying GP appointments because of cost is the highest since figures began being recorded in 2013-14.

The proportion of people who skipped buying medicine rose from 5.6 per cent to 7.6 per cent over 12 months – the highest rate since 2015-16.

Young people are the most likely to lose health care due to cost-of-living pressures.

More than 10 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds delayed or canceled a doctor’s appointment they needed, compared to 2.3 percent of people ages 75 to 84.

Almost 750,000 of the 3.9 million Australians who needed to see a mental health professional also skipped or delayed their appointments because of money last year, including half a million who couldn’t afford to see their psychologist.

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Dutton said the government made decisions in two budgets that forced the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates.

“Government energy policy continues to drive inflation, which means you’re paying more for your mortgage because it’s not just you in your family household or your small business paying more for your electricity or paying more for your groceries – everyone is in the supply chain,” he said at a press conference in Victoria on Tuesday.

But Chalmers dismissed the opposition leader’s claims, pointing to ABS data which showed electricity prices should have jumped 18.6 per cent in the September quarter, but instead rose 4.2 per cent due to government relief. .

“Peter Dutton thinks he can lie about the economy all he wants, but this just proves that his vicious negativity is no substitute for economic credibility,” the treasurer said in a statement.

“He voted for higher energy prices and higher inflation in parliament. Now he wants to pretend otherwise.”

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