Australia: Public sector can’t prop up employment growth forever – ANZ

Catherine Birch, analyst at ANZ, points out that around 97% of net employment gains over the past year for the Australian economy have been in the public sector.

Key Quotes

“Private sector growth has been essentially flat, corresponding with weak business conditions and declining private investment.”

“The strength in public sector employment has been seen across states and territories as well as in key industries.”

“Relying on the public sector to create employment opportunities is not sustainable. With a significant and sustained change in momentum for the private sector unlikely in the near term, we expect overall employment growth to slow to 2.0% y/y by the end of 2019 and further in 2020.”