Sources: ABS; National Skills Commission; RBA  Once the labour market disruptions from Omicron have dissipated, we expect some of the additional demand for labour to be met with a further rise in labour force participation. We also expect an increase in average hours worked as part-time workers wanting additional hours have more success in finding the hours they are seeking.
Turning now to inflation, there has also been an upside surprise (Graph 5). The pick-up in inflation reflects both the strength of the economic recovery and the significant disruptions on the supply side.