The increased costs of the current levels of tariffs on imports for Australian exporters have been assessed by the Centre for International Economics as an average of 3 per cent. In some sectors those additional costs are higher than 3 per cent holding back output, exports and jobs growth. Case study research indicated that in some firms where employment had been lost, the view was that liberalisation and subsequent productivity improvement had saved the firms. Export growth and its contribution to economic growth means jobs for Australians. A survey in 1996 of Austrade's exporter clients showed that nearly 60 per cent had either increased employment or expected to do so as a result of exporting.
Many issues affect job creation and job growth.
Despite creation of new jobs in export industries, the coincidence of trade liberalisation and growing unemployment in recent times has meant that export growth has not always been associated with jobs growth in the public's mind. This is because structural adjustment, rapid technological change and productivity improvements have been driving a countervailing process of job shrinkage, particularly in unskilled segments of the labour market. Often, job losses that are driven by technological change and productivity improvement deliver greater export competitiveness. In the longer term, more demand can lead on to more jobs - jobs that are sustainable and higher paying. Many industrialised countries have experienced relatively high rates of unemployment in recent years.