5.1% unemployment and 8.5% underemployment The Australian government is taking a lot of credit for the number of jobs they are ‘creating’ – citing the 5.1% unemployment rate – the lowest for some time. They have attributed this low rate to their great work with taxation reform, trade deals, and various other strategies. At the […]

5.1% unemployment and 8.5% underemployment The Australian government is taking a lot of credit for the number of jobs they are ‘creating’ – citing the 5.1% unemployment rate – the lowest for some time. They have attributed this low rate to their great work with taxation reform, trade deals, and various other strategies. At the same time, however, 8.5% of Australian workers are underemployed (unable to earn a living wage from the work they have secured). The government blames this on the changing nature of work.In other words, this government, like most of its contemporaries and forebears, is taking credit for good results and blaming others for bad results. This is called self-serving bias – and it is not unique to politicians.Self-serving bias involves an individual taking credit for positive events or outcomes, and blaming outside factors for negative events. In essence, this is all about people thinking they are…