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The mining boom led to large increases in wages for many lower-skilled jobs in mining regions. This raised the opportunity cost of remaining in school, TAFE or university for many students, particularly those in mining areas. I show that this led fewer people in those areas to pursue tertiary study. These educational responses were an important source of labour market adjustment during the boom. It accommodated most of the strong rise in the labour force participation rate of 15-24 year olds in the resource-rich states, and 5-10 per cent of the total additional labour supply needed in those states.

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The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid deterioration in labour market outcomes, some of which may be long-lasting. This article examines the long-lived effects of previous downturns on unemployment in Australia, including by assessing how regional labour market outcomes varied during and after the [Global Financial Crisis] GFC and early 1990s recession. We find that recessions have enduring effects on unemployment rates: regions that experienced larger-than-average downturns had significantly higher unemployment rates for around a decade afterwards.

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A concern that low job security is constraining wage growth has been expressed in many countries. Using data on Australian households over time, this article finds that workers' perceptions of their own job security have declined in recent years. This deterioration has occurred across many job and personal characteristics. These weaker job security perceptions have provided a small drag on wage growth.

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A career in surgery has historically been a competitive but attainable achievement for the highly committed and driven individual. Although there is no doubt that we are still training and selecting junior doctors of the highest calibre, there is a growing concern among some of the higher surgical specialties that the pool of applicants from which to choose is dwindling. If the drop in numbers applying continues in the next few years, there is a chance that many surgical specialties will be facing the reality of either under-filling their higher surgical posts or be at risk of lowering their current entry requirements.

The change in numbers applying to ENT has been a major cause for concern, falling from 184 applicants in 2013 to just 98 in 2016, resulting in competition ratios reducing from 3:1 to 1.5:1. Scotland joined the national recruitment process for ENT specialty training in 2013. In the first couple of years it was felt that Scottish junior trainees might have been disadvantaged, given the lack of experience in the current interview system. These issues were raised at the National Scottish Otolaryngology Society meeting and highlighted as areas of concern. As a result, a mentoring scheme was set up with the help of one of the training programme directors. In addition, a Scottish interview course, based in Edinburgh, was established with the purpose of preparing candidates for specialist training (ST) interviews. The aim of this review was to highlight these issues and describe how we are trying to help safeguard future recruitment to ENT.

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There has been a stark decline in the size and diversity of the Year 12 Economics student population since the early 1990s. The Reserve Bank has commissioned a comprehensive survey of students to gain quantitative evidence of the factors contributing to this decline. The survey responses highlight that while economics in general is perceived to be important for society, many students lack an interest in, or understanding of, Economics as a subject. This finding is even more pronounced for students who are female, those from a lower socio-economic background and those from regional schools.

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Underemployment in Australia has been moving higher for several decades. This article reviews the trends that have been driving this, including the long-run increase in part-time employment and changes in how the labour market adjusts to fluctuations in labour demand. The article also discusses the implications of the upwards trend in the underemployment rate for assessing spare capacity in the labour market. One implication is that the unemployment rate may need to decline by more than has previously been the case before wage pressures start building strongly.

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To promote economic literacy and ensure the long-term health of the economics discipline, it is important to address the sharp decline in the size and diversity of the economics student population. Administrative data from the University Admissions Centre (UAC) provides information about how students transition from high school to university economics. These pathways suggest that interventions to increase the number and diversity of students studying economics in Year 12 can strengthen the pipeline of students into university economics. Interventions to improve the economic literacy of Year 12 economics students who are less socially advantaged are important to encourage more diversity in university economics; in contrast, female students appear to need less academic support and may instead benefit more from tailored interventions that pique their interest in and confidence with economics. More advocacy of economics should also increase its uptake at university, particularly among students already studying economics and/or a STEM subject in Year 12 and higher performers.

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Are your future employment prospects affected by past periods of unemployment? And does it matter how long you were unemployed? The average duration of unemployment has increased steadily over the 2010s. At the same time, the rate at which unemployed people are able to find a job has slowed. Long-term unemployed people are more likely to be older and male and have lower levels of formal education than those who have been unemployed for a shorter period. We use micro-level labour market data to show that future employment prospects are closely tied to the duration of unemployment: people who are unemployed for longer are less likely to find a job. We also find some evidence that an extended period of unemployment can harm people's employment chances for a long time afterwards.

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Economics graduates work in a broad range of occupations and industries, often beyond the discipline of economics itself. The earnings of economics graduates are higher than in most other fields of study, including business studies. By estimating wage premiums for various skills, we assert that the comparatively strong earnings of economics graduates comes from the development of analytical thinking and quantitative skills which are highly rewarded in the labour market. Over the past year, the Reserve Bank has increased its efforts to advocate economics as a subject of choice for students at high school and university. Improving economic literacy should support the quality of public discourse in Australia and, in turn, promote good public policy. A natural question that students ask when considering their subject options is, 'Does it pay to study economics at university?' Part of the answer to this question relates to the types of jobs in which an economics degree allows them to work. Another part relates to the skills that are developed through studying economics and whether these skills are valued in the labour market. This article considers these issues.

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Those who are economically literate make more informed economic choices, better understand the world around them and can influence public discourse and the actions of government. Given the importance of economic literacy for individuals and society at large, the Bank commissioned a large-scale survey of Australian adults testing their understanding of some core macroeconomic topics. The results enabled compilation of simple literacy scores that represent the Bank's first attempt to gauge economic literacy in Australia. Being male, older, of higher income, having a degree, having studied economics or finance, or being engaged with economic news are associated with higher scores. By contrast, persons aged 18-24 years, unemployed persons and those without a degree had the lowest scores. Questions that tested abstract macroeconomic concepts appeared more difficult than those about more relatable issues that draw on lived experience. These findings speak to the importance of simple and targeted communication by the Bank and other policymakers to support the understanding of economic concepts across the community.

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