‘Cautious, concerned and insecure’: Australians too scared to move jobs

Updated July 31, 2026 — 12:15pm,first published 12:03pm

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A new reason for the drop in Australians’ living standards may have been uncovered – workers are too frightened to risk taking on a new job.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the proportion of people moving jobs over the past year has fallen to its lowest level on record.

About 1 million people shifted workplaces through the past 12 months, or 7.2 per cent of the workforce. That’s the lowest so-called “mobility rate” since figures were first collated during the days of black-and-white television.

According to Asia-Pacific economist with job website Indeed, Callam Pickering, the figures suggest that the........

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