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'K-shaped' recession as public service swells

John Kehoe

More than 22,000 extra public servants have been hired since governments shut large sections of the economy in response to COVID-19, while over half a million private-sector jobs have been lost.

Taxpayer-funded politicians and bureaucrats in safe jobs were destroying private sector worker livelihoods by imposing business shutdowns and border closures in response to the coronavirus, according to Melbourne-based free-market think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs.

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John Kehoe is economics editor at Parliament House, Canberra. He writes on economics, politics and business. John was Washington correspondent covering Donald Trump’s first election. He joined the Financial Review in 2008 from Treasury. Connect with John on Twitter. Email John at jkehoe@afr.com

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    Original URL: https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/k-shaped-recession-as-public-service-swells-20200908-p55tk6