The Australian Bureau of Statistics has just released its latest survey on the household impacts of COVID-19 in February 2022, and the findings suggest that Australia's labour markets are still a long way from recovery.
The March ANZ job advertisement series is likely to point to a further decline in the jobless rate and quicker than being predicted by the RBA and Treasury.
WA appears set for a political makeover at the next federal election, with tax reform, integrity measures and action on climate change confronting whichever party forms government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison won't freeze fuel excise, even as global oil prices near $US100 per barrel with Russia and Ukraine on the brink of all-out war.
Annual wages grew 2.3 per cent as of the December quarter, the highest since mid-2019, but still lagged well behind the rate of inflation at 3.5 per cent.
The impact of January's Omicron case surge on the labour force has been laid bare, with hours worked dropping almost 9 per cent, while unemployment remains at a 13-year low.
Australia's construction industry suffered a slump over December and January due to the impact of the Omicron variant, continuing the sector's volatile run over the past six months.
Economists are still confident of a further drop in the unemployment rate and a relatively solid rise in employment when the December labour force figures are released on Thursday.
Retail sales soared by 7.3 per cent in November after last year's easing of COVID-19 restrictions, but there are signs the subsequent emergence of the Omicron variant has since curbed spending.
Rising consumer spending has helped Western Australia's domestic economy grow 0.6 per cent in the September quarter, while the national economy shrank 1.8 per cent.
Dwelling approvals in WA dropped by 3 per cent in October, stabilising from a 21 per cent drop the previous month, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.
Australian company profits rose four per cent in the September quarter despite the nation being in the thick of a series of COVID-19 restrictions, which saw half the population in lockdown.
Retail spending rose 4.9 per cent in October as COVID-19 restrictions eased across the country however WA only reported a 0.2 per cent increase in sales.
Growth in Western Australia's domestic economy was the second lowest nationally in the June quarter, but state final demand was still 12 per cent larger than June quarter 2020.