The prime minister wants small business to become the driver of the economy as his government looks to increase productivity, and new childcare safety laws will be introduced in the first week of federal parliament.
The government being the biggest job creator is not a good sign for the economy at large
Ai Group analysis of today’s employment data shows that of the 484,000 new jobs created in 2024, only 99,000 were in the private market sector. 80% of job creation was in either the public sector or non-market sectors, both of which depend on government-funding for employment generation.
The government being the biggest job creator is not a good sign for the economy at large
How do you come to that judgement?
What do you count as “the economy at large”? How have you determined that this observation (the government being the biggest job creator) is a good sign for that, a bad sign for that, or no signal for that?
What connection does your definition of “the economy at large” have to do with life as lived by most people in that economy? If the connection is indirect, how do we determine whether “good for the economy at large” is good for the people in that economy?
I ask all this because it seems to me “the government being the biggest job creator” can be good or not good. It very much depends on how good the jobs created are: wages compared to cost of living, working conditions, stability of employment, and the social benefit of the work being done, among other factors.
If the government creates a bunch of jobs that society needs, and they’re good jobs, and all other factors that affect us are good, why should we care whether it’s “not a good sign for the economy at large”? The economy has been doing great during some really shitty times in society. I don’t think we should much care what is good for “the economy at large” unless it’s directly connected to working people’s lives.
It means more burden on tax payer, usually but not always a sign of increased bureaucracy, it’s unsustainable and when it ends it usually means retraction of economy because the business sector has been sluggish and the government is just covering for it
when business is doing well and the government is hiring/spending a lot it means inflation/overheated economy and since inflation is still trending downwards very good sign that if the gov turns off the tap we go into recession
The government being the biggest job creator is not a good sign for the economy at large
https://www.aigroup.com.au/news/media-centre/2025/government-funded-jobs-boom-conceals-weak-private-sector-labour-market/
How do you come to that judgement?
What do you count as “the economy at large”? How have you determined that this observation (the government being the biggest job creator) is a good sign for that, a bad sign for that, or no signal for that?
What connection does your definition of “the economy at large” have to do with life as lived by most people in that economy? If the connection is indirect, how do we determine whether “good for the economy at large” is good for the people in that economy?
I ask all this because it seems to me “the government being the biggest job creator” can be good or not good. It very much depends on how good the jobs created are: wages compared to cost of living, working conditions, stability of employment, and the social benefit of the work being done, among other factors.
If the government creates a bunch of jobs that society needs, and they’re good jobs, and all other factors that affect us are good, why should we care whether it’s “not a good sign for the economy at large”? The economy has been doing great during some really shitty times in society. I don’t think we should much care what is good for “the economy at large” unless it’s directly connected to working people’s lives.
Why not?
It means more burden on tax payer, usually but not always a sign of increased bureaucracy, it’s unsustainable and when it ends it usually means retraction of economy because the business sector has been sluggish and the government is just covering for it
when business is doing well and the government is hiring/spending a lot it means inflation/overheated economy and since inflation is still trending downwards very good sign that if the gov turns off the tap we go into recession