ABS revises labour force methodology – things are much worse than we thought

Yesterday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released an extraordinary press notice – Statement from the Australian Statistician on the Labour Force estimates – which aimed to help everyone understand why the Labour Force data has been so weird lately. A lot of readers E-mail me seeking help understanding what seasonal adjustment is all about. It is a dry topic and not one I relish even though I have a background in statistics and econometrics. But given yesterday’s announcement and the disarray that people have sensed with the official labour force data in Australia recently, I thought I might try a non-technical explanation of what has been going on. Here goes! And for those who like attacks on austerity etc, underpinning this whole discussion is the mindlessness of neo-liberalism. That should get you reading!

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