Back in November 2012, Australia’s Liberal-National coalition, under the leadership of then opposition leader Tony Abbott, pledged that should they take office at the 2013 federal election that they would create one million jobs within five years.

It was an ambitious target, but an achievable one given job growth at-and-above the required level had been seen in Australia before.

Well, the now Coalition government has achieved its target, chasing it down with an employment increase of 22,600 in April.

As seen in the chart below, a run-rate of sorts to borrow a cricket analogy, from when the government took office in September 2013, 1,013,631 jobs have been created. The run chase has been completed with five months to spare.

Coalition wins!

After a shaky period in 2016, some heavy hitting, especially from Australia’s construction, education and healthcare sectors, managed to get the jobs pledge over the line.

While the government kept its promise – unusual, we know – it was helped by Australia’s civilian population aged 15 years and over increasing by a mammoth 1,396,800 in the same period.

More people means more demand, providing a natural tailwind for employment growth.

The jobs boom did nothing to help to lift wage growth, which has decelerated markedly since the government took office. To be fair, however, this has been seen in many advanced economies over the past few year, not just in Australia.

Still, a win’s a win, with more Australians than ever before in employment, including a greater share of the working age population either with a job or actively seeking work.

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