run smoother with at least some in - person contact. there is nothing like face - to - face interaction for building trust, strengthening relationships and reinforcing culture. australian bureau of statistics ( abs ) surveys suggest that larger firms are more likely to have staff working remotely than smaller firms. the share of businesses with remote working arrangements increased notably following the onset of the pandemic ( graph 10 ). while some firms have already ceased these arrangements, most have retained them and plan to stick with the current pattern in future. so this is a lasting effect on the way we plan to work. a sizeable minority plan to reduce the amount of remote working at their firms over the longer term, but few will eliminate remote work completely. graph 10 businesses with remote working share of total businesses % % small medium prior to covid - 19 after the onset of covid - 19 large all at april 2021 long - term intentions source : abs with more people working remotely, the need for as much office space comes into question – just as the need for retail space does as more shopping goes online. certainly vacancy rates for both office and retail property have jumped up since the pandemic began. occupancy of the space that is still leased is also below pre - pandemic norms. what this means for the longer term has been a constant discussion, both in our liaison program and globally. the general theme that comes out of these discussions is one of uncertainty ; while the direction is towards reduced demand for office space, it's too soon to decide how far to cut down on space. a desire for greater space per worker might partly offset the reduction in space required when more people are working from home. the supply response, if there is one, will take a while to come through. much of the new supply in coming years was already underway before the pandemic. that said, many planned projects have been put on hold and some might end up being cancelled ( graph 11 ). and if some office or retail property turns out to be surplus to requirements, it will take a while – and some creativity – before it is repurposed. graph 11 ’ 000m² estimated office and retail construction office retail ’ 000m² completed or under construction planned, yet to commence sources : jll research ; rba … in how we work as i mentioned earlier, adjusting to lockdowns and other restrictions on activity accelerated the existing trends to online commerce and home delivery. prior to the pan

as borders open and restrictions ease, though perhaps at different rates to previous years. similarly, while many of the people moved out of larger population centres to escape the virus, or the lockdowns, some of them might return to their previous locations over time. it is difficult to disentangle these transitory effects from the more lasting ones. there will be at least some cases of people moving further out from the city centre, because long commutes will not seem so unpleasant if you only need to do it a couple of days a week. and where full - time working from home is possible, ‘ work from home ’ really starts to mean ‘ work from anywhere ’. so for some it has been possible to move to an entirely different population centre. these bigger changes are almost certainly going to affect only a minority of the population. many of us would not leave our existing social networks and support systems lightly. and as i have already mentioned, ‘ work from anywhere ’ isn't really feasible for everyone. but there will be some shifts, at least at the margin, which could alter patterns of relative growth. these could matter for plans for urban expansion and the provision of new infrastructure, even if the distribution of population doesn't shift wholesale. the task for public policy the pandemic is not over. australia has seen a swift bounce back, but many other economies are still recovering or contending with outbreaks. during the height of the pandemic, when restrictions on activity are tight, the task for policy is to build a bridge to the recovery. as economies move through recovery to the expansion phase, the focus naturally turns to sustaining that expansion. that means ensuring that demand continues to be supported for as long as spare capacity remains. absorbing spare capacity and achieving full employment is an important national priority. full employment is a worthy goal for its own sake, given how important jobs and income are for people's welfare. it is also a precondition for achieving the rates of wages growth that would be consistent with inflation being sustainably within the 2 – 3 per cent target range that the bank is mandated to achieve. in the context of the post - pandemic recovery, there is another reason to support demand : to help enable any structural adjustments that might be needed. it is far easier for a firm to change business models when demand is robust, and far easier for a worker to switch industries or careers when there are plenty of jobs available. to the extent that the post