Low Unemployment the Major Goal in Employment White Paper

Treasurer wants to keep jobless rate low and sustainable.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers hands down the 2023 Budget in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on May 9, 2023. Martin Ollman/Getty Images

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has denied that Labor’s forthcoming employment white paper was in conflict with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) unemployment rate target.

Mr. Chalmers said the aim of the white paper was to get the unemployment rate as low as possible, but without setting a specific statistical target like the RBA’s non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) of 4.5 percent.