Stoked to be back in your inbox. I’ve been hiking in Norway for the last three weeks. Shoutout Norway, it’s awesome. It reminded me of this scene from ‘The Simpsons Movie’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ess_5x83I30

This week: Job mobility for young people hits lowest level on record, and home prices rise for the sixth month in a row.

Job mobility is the percentage of people who changed jobs in the last year.

Among young people, it’s at its lowest level on record, according to the latest data from February 2025. Young people typically change jobs more often than older people, but for the last 30 years, the gap has been closing.

Let’s unpack.

Of the approximately 2.2 million workers aged between 15 and 24, in the 12 months between February 2024 and February 2025, around 254,000 changed jobs.

254,000 / 2,200,000 = 11.5%.

The below chart shows job mobility by age groups over time. The blue line, which shows 15-24 year olds, has been steadily declining since the mid 1990s. It’s now at its lowest level ever, having come down nearly 50% since the 1990s.

A few factors at play include:

Job mobility is closely linked to wage growth. Switching jobs is one of the best ways to get a pay bump. According to analysis by the e61 Institute, switching jobs can earn the average worker a pay increase 9% bigger than a pay rise at their same job. That’s about $5,700 for most people.

For young people, it’s an even bigger deal. Young workers benefit the most from job switching, earning an extra $7,500 more per year than if they stayed.

Job mobility is closely linked to productivity — how you can create more output from the same number of workers and machines. Changing jobs more frequently could mean you’re continuing to work where you are most effective.

Productivity as it relates to job mobility is also on the Government’s agenda, with a session dedicated to it at its economic roundtable next week.

Home prices have been rising for six months straight – making the dream of owning a home feel even further away for many young Aussies

ScaleApp is here to help you cut through the noise. This free tool lets you simulate your own property journey, plan your finances, and explore realistic pathways to home ownership – even when the market feels unpredictable.

No pressure, no gimmicks – just clear, practical insights tailored to your situation.

If you’re trying to make sense of the rising prices, ScaleApp can help you take the first step.

Home prices rose 0.6% in July across Australia, according to data from Cotality (a company tracking property prices).

That is the sixth month in a row of gains, aligning with the RBA’s first cut to the cash rate back in February.

Every capital city saw an increase in home prices in July 2025.

Now, let’s get more granular. Over the last year, the capital-city region which has seen the most growth across all of Australia is Palmerston, in Darwin (+13.5%).

Outside the capitals, the gold medal goes to Albany, in regional WA (+21.9%)

The above numbers refer to the prices of houses and units considered together. If you split them, you’ll see house prices are growing faster than units.

House prices increased 1.9% over the last three months, adding around $16,700 to the value of the median (or middle, seen as most representative) home.

For apartments, growth was a smaller 1.4%, about $9,700 added to the median value. The difference between national median house and unit is now at a record high of 32.3%, or $223,000.

For more lists and rankings, see Cotality’s report here.

Housing is a massive issue in Australia — frankly, it’s too big for just one newsletter.

Let me know what aspects of the housing market you want broken down, and I might answer your question in a future newsletter.

Australians are drinking and smoking less than we used to. According to official data, over the last four years, spending on alcohol and tobacco as a percentage of total spending volumes has declined significantly.

Can we trust the official data, though? There’s reason to doubt the ABS figures.

Vaping rates nearly tripled between 2019 and 2023, while an independent report commissioned by tobacco companies (so take it with a grain of salt) found illegal cigarettes account for nearly 40% of all smoking, up from 14% just 6 years ago.

So, what we see as a downward trend from the ABS could really just be people switching to vapes or illegal cigarettes.