How is the labor economy unfolding in Australia? Compared to the same months in pre-COVID, hiring was 14% higher year-over-year during the recent quarter as the economy gradually lifted restrictions. However, there remain risks to the recovery given the global economic uncertainty over Ukraine and the potential of new COVID variants. On the supply side, job applicants show more interest in jobs that offer remote options. Relative to their absolute share of all job postings, those that offer remote options received 1.6-times more applications, on average. Green hiring is accelerating rapidly in the Australian economy, and green jobs accounted for 1.2% of all hires in 2021, a 50% increase from 2016.
