ABSTRACT
Since the 1970s there has been a degree of dissatisfaction expressed about the performance of labour markets in several countries. In most Western countries, the 1970s were a decade where unemployment levels began to rise, and labour markets were effectively stabilised at a level of disequilibrium with labour supply exceeding labour demand. Economically this meant that there was a considerable waste of an important resource. There was in Australia a significant increase in the level of unemployment throughout the 1970s. This rise in unemployment was accompanied by a slowdown in growth of productivity. This rise in unemployment and productivity growth slowdown brought about two main policy responses in various countries.
