Why Australians aren't switching jobs or starting businesses | The Business | ABC NEWS

People are less mobile, less dynamic and more risk-averse than they used to be, according to a series of economic indicators. In 1989, almost one in five people in the workforce changed jobs in a single year. The most recent data, for the year to February 2025, shows just over 1.1 million people changed jobs, meaning job-switching fell to just 7.7 per cent, or one in 13 people. Self-employment has fallen sharply to a 20-year low, according to research from the e61 Institute. Business strategist Kate McCready says there's a lot of fear in the workplace at the moment. Contributing to those fears are advances in artificial intelligence (AI), the uncertain global environment and a weakening jobs market. Another sign of decreased mobility is Australians are not moving interstate as much as they used to. The cost of housing and the risk involved in taking a mortgage, plus transaction costs such as stamp duty make it harder to move. "All of these factors point towards Australians being stuck or being held in the jobs that they currently have," said Rachel Lee, a research economist at the e61 Institute. Ms Lee says the security and benefits of traditional employment, like superannuation and parental leave, had become more attractive over time. Economist Dimitri Burshtein, who works at Eminence Advisory, said high income tax rates and regulations that impeded young people from starting businesses hindered their ability to get ahead.
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Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-25/not-moving-jobs-not-starting-businesses-not-moving-states-data/106599004

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