Trends and Cycles in Australian State and Territory Unemployment Rates.

This paper has as its subject matter the behaviour of state unemployment rates over time. Arguments are presented which suggest that the common approach which entails regressing state or regional rate of unemployment on the national rate is not likely to yield much useful knowledge. As a positive contribution to the literature, this paper focuses on two things: first, the behaviour over time in the dispersion of state unemployment rates and their relationship with the business cycle and; second, tests for the presence of common trends and/or common cycles in the state unemployment rates. The results suggest that there is a case which can be made for regional policy in Australia.