The thousands of jobs created in January show why business is the backbone of the economy, but it's also a reminder that we need to double down on attracting investment to boost productivity and grow wages, Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said today.
"More than 65,000 people moved into full-time employment and over 39,000 jobs were created last month, around double the number of expected new jobs.
"These strong results are encouraging and built in part on the strength of strong Australian businesses, proof that when business thrives, Australians do too.
"While today's results are a positive sign, they should be a call to action for our political leaders – attracting investment and keeping Australia globally competitive is the best thing we can do to grow the economy and boost wages.
"We have the jobs dividend, now we need the productivity dividend driven by investment to boost wages.
"We know the only way to sustainably deliver real wages growth is through productivity growth and that comes from strong investment and a competitive business environment.
"There is no magic equation to get wages growing, it's basic economics. We need a growing and vibrant business sector to continue investing and growing the economy."
