Economy

Trusted global casuals and temporary staff hiring solutions platform, Sidekicker, recently announced its June index. The Sidekicker Jobs Index analyses data from more than 27,000 workers (known as Sidekicks) across 7,000+ businesses from several sectors in Australia. The Sidekicker Index indicated a 17% month-over-month (MoM) decline in the number of shifts per business in June, with Victoria (-40%) and Western Australia (-47%) seeing the biggest fall YoY. The Index has also seen the largest year-over-year (YoY) growth in applications per shift in Western Australia (50%) and Queensland (76%).

A new report by the e61 Institute titled The State of Competition in Australia, highlights the headwinds that high and rising market concentration pose to competition and living standards in Australia. The report revealed that in 2017, the top four firms had a market share of over 70% in 12% of industries. The sectors included mining, utilities and manufacturing sectors.

Mid-sized Australian organisations are showing immense resilience during the global economic downturn, with two in five currently looking to grow employee numbers, new research by HR tech leader HiBob finds. According to the new research report, nearly half (48%) of these organisations are looking to hire operations professionals, while a quarter (26%) are looking to bolster customer support teams, and a fifth (21%) are looking to hire more people in IT.

Cracks are showing in two-speed consumption economy according to new research by Wunderkind, a performance marketing solution that powers personalisation at scale for online brands and retailers. The research reveals the past year has forced half of Aussies (52%) to swap to more affordable alternatives, while the other half (48%) either haven’t altered their spending habits or have started purchasing high-end, non-essential items more often.

KAOUN International, a subsidiary of Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), and the SuperBridge Council have jointly announced the inaugural edition of the SuperBridge Summit Dubai. The summit which will debut at the Museum of the Future in Dubai on 16-17 October 2023. It is an exciting new platform that will convene over 500 business, policy and cultural leaders from 20 countries, representing the fastest-growing economies. The summit will take place alongside the 43rd edition of GITEX Global, the largest and most influential tech event hosted in Dubai, organised by DWTC, attracting tech executives and investors from 170 countries.

Restaurant dynamic pricing platform, EatClub, released the results of its 2023 dining research and insights show Aussies are changing dining habits in response to cost of living pressures. According to EatClub, Melbourne folk love their cafes and dine out the most compared to other Aussie states. Melbourne has the most transactions in terms of dining occasions.

Despite the rising cost of living putting more pressure on hourly workers, new research data from Deputy’s first-ever Shift Worker Happiness Index shows that Australian shift workers are feeling positive, with 83% stating they feel “good” or "amazing" after their shifts. According to Deputy's index, 40% of shift workers in healthcare reported feeling “good” after their shifts this year, compared to 38% in the last quarter of 2022. Similarly, 56% of hospitality workers and 46% of services workers reported feeling "amazing" this year, compared to 53% and 37% reporting the same respectively in the last quarter of 2022.

The recently announced Federal Budget will not make a “big difference” to the vast majority (80%) of Australians who are experiencing elevated distress due to cost-of-living pressures and rising personal debt, while almost half of the respondents(49%) believe it will not deliver any relief (26%) – or even make things worse (23%) – for them in the next 12 months.

Research from e61 revealed the pandemic changed how people value where they live. Their analysis of rents suggests that people are preferencing areas on the urban fringe and regions as places to live, contributing to rent increases on the urban fringe relative to inner city rents. These research results from e61 represent a $1,300 per year increase in rent paid on the urban fringe as compared to the inner city, suggesting that lifestyle changes post-pandemic, including the shift to remote work, has ultimately changed where people want to live.

Philip Morris International (PMI) warns about increasing rates of illicit cigarette consumption in the European Union (EU), which are depriving governments of billions in tax revenues and eroding tobacco control policies. PMI calls for a reassessment of policy choices that may be contributing to the year-over-year growth of the illicit market in the region and for innovative approaches that can help drive millions away from continued smoking to be considered.