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Treasurer Jim Chalmers faces a fight between unions and big business about whether Australia's historically low unemployment rate can be sustained, with one labour market

Treasurer Jim Chalmers faces a fight between unions and big business about whether Australia's historically low unemployment rate can be sustained, with one labour market expert urging the government to target a 4 per cent jobless rate. Dr Chalmers has tasked Treasury with examining the future of Australia's labour market as part of an employment white paper that will be released this year. The jobless rate is at a near 50-year low of 3.5 per cent, which the Reserve Bank of Australia has previously said is beneath levels consistent with stable inflation. In its submission, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) said it could be argued that Australia was beyond full employment. "Labour market data supports this contention, with almost one job vacancy for every unemployed person." The chamber said unemployed people needed to have not only the right skills to fill a vacancy, but also the willingness to move to take up a job opportunity. "However, a wide range of factors, including connection to family, lifestyle, availability of housing, loss of access to childcaring, and the cost of moving can influence the willingness to move for work." But the union movement is urging Dr Chalmers to push for a more ambitious target of zero involuntary unemployment, using the levers of government to engineer job gains. "There is a pervasive view that full employment is no longer a priority, due to the sudden fall in the unemployment rate from 5.3 per cent in October 2021 to 3.4 per cent in July 2022," the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) wrote in its submission. "Yet 1.8 million Australians are still either unemployed or underemployed according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' extended measure of underutilization, which includes the hidden unemployed such as those who have given up looking for work." The ACTU said the unemployment rate was still above the 2 per cent average achieved in the three decades from 1945 to 1975.


Answer both questions below
i. Referring to the article , why would the unemployment rate still be above zero if the economy was at full employment?
ii. Drawing on current economic data (appropriately referenced via intext citation), state whether you believe Australia’s unemployment rate is above or below the unemployment rate corresponding to full employment.

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Introduction The Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers is navigating a complex scenario with divergent views on the sustainability of Australias historically low unemployment rate As he commissions Treasu... blur-text-image

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