This paper provides an overview of the main features of unemployment in Australia, and its consequences. Its main objectives are to: describe the main features of the evolution and distribution of unemployment; present information on labour market outcomes underlying the changes in unemployment...

Evidence from a range of countries suggests the existence of a "wage curve" -an inverse relation between earnings of individual workers and the rate of unemployment in the region in which they live. If such a relation does exist it has important implications for labour market theory and policy....