Richard Holden, Author at SmartCompany

franchising wage theft unemployment rate

The government is boasting a 4.2% unemployment rate, but wage growth is still sluggish

Australia’s official unemployment rate in January remained at a historically low 4.2%, but the story on wages is not impressive.

NSW reopening nsw rent relief omicron shadow lockdowns

Small businesses can’t survive multiple ‘shadow lockdowns’ without a national support plan

The type of government support that helped so many businesses survive the official lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 has been absent during the Omicron outbreak.

dependence on China china's economy

China’s economy is still growing, but internal challenges could halt its momentum

For China's economy to continue to grow rapidly it will need to invest further in its human capital, and ensure there is a stable and predictable legal regime.

China evergrande

China weighs up Evergrande bailout while executives’ fate remains uncertain

China has a dilemma on its hand with what to do with property giant Evergrande, with a possible bailout posing deeper questions about the behaviour of the country's large financial institutions.

wind power climate net-zero climate change net zero

Better late than never: Coalition finally makes move on climate

The Coalition seems to be finally accepting that it needs to commit to net zero, and that win for the climate is worth acknowledging.

Greens small business

The Greens’ super-profit tax idea may not be the winner that it seems to be

The Greens Party has proposed a “tycoon tax” that would tax so-called super-profits made by companies with annual turnovers of more than $100 million.

unemployment rba real-time payments

Unemployment rate hits 4.6% in July, but ongoing lockdowns may change that figure

The labour force figures for July, released today, show how the labour market is recovering from last year’s massive pandemic hit.

Uber

Calculating social benefit: New working paper shows Uber has decreased traffic accidents

A working paper has found that Uber has greatly reduced traffic accidents and drunk driving. But how do we tally up the total social value of a technological innovation?

making coffee young person inflation

As lockdowns continue, Australia’s unemployment rate hits decade low of 4.9%

The latest jobs figures show Australia’s unemployment rate in June fell below 5% for the first time in a decade. So what does that tell us about the state of the economy?

Skills shortage in tech

Is technology the real reason global economic growth has slowed?

Advanced economies around the world have, to varying degrees, witnessed the same trend of slowing economic and real wages growth since the financial crisis of 2008-09. Why?

G7 company tax rate

The G7’s move on company tax may actually benefit Australia. Here’s why

A decision by the G7 to ensure multinational businesses pay a minimum company tax rate of “at least” 15% could deliver longer-term economic benefits to Australia.

Reserve-Bank

New data shows a drop in unemployment rate, just one month after JobKeeper ended

New data has provided the first glimpse of what is happening with employment following the end of the JobKeeper wage-subsidy scheme in March.

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