ABS Highlight Lower Hours Worked In Victoria

The ABS notes that "after a similarly large decrease in seasonally adjusted hours worked across most of the states and territories in April and May, hours recovered in most states and territories in June and July. In August, Victoria recorded a large decrease (down 4.8%), while most other states and territories recorded increases (except for the ACT, which recorded a slight decrease, following a large increase in July).

• Hours worked in Victoria declined by more than the rest of Australia between March and May, before starting to recover at a similar rate between May and June. Into July, hours worked increased slightly in Victoria (up 0.7%) and increased by 1.5% in the rest of Australia. By August, the difference was pronounced, with hours worked decreasing by 4.8% in Victoria, compared to a continued rise in the rest of Australia (up 1.8%).
• All states and territories recorded very large increases in people working zero hours for economic reasons between March and April, followed by a steady decrease in the months to July. Between July and August, some states recorded modest increases, while in Victoria the number (and share) of people working zero hours for economic reasons almost doubled."