IMF Staff Country Reports

Australia: Background Material

Publication Date:

May 10, 1995

Summary:

This paper describes the developments in the Australian labor market during the 1990s. In 1994, a number of new labor market programs were launched, directed especially at the long-term unemployed, and a further step was taken in the evolutionary reform of the industrial relations system. The paper reviews developments in employment, wages, and productivity in Australia that formed the background to these policy initiatives. It also examines the conduct of fiscal policy at the Commonwealth and consolidated government levels and describes the fiscal consolidation strategy announced by the Commonwealth government for 1994/95–1997/98.

Series:

Country Report No. 1995/029

Subject:

Banking Expenditure Exports External debt Income Interest payments International trade Labor National accounts Wages

Notes:

This background material on Australia was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with this member country. In releasing this document for public use, confidential material may have been removed at the request of the member.