Graph 8  Cumulative Change in Hours Worked Contributions since December 2019 %  United States  Canada  Australia  %  0  0  -10  -10  -20  -20  %  Japan  Italy  United Kingdom  %  0  0  -10  -10  -20  -20  -30  M J S D M J 2020 2021 Total hours worked  M J S D M J 2020 2021  M J S D M J 2020 2021  Employment  Average hours worked  -30  Sources: CEIC Data; Office for National Statistics; RBA; Refinitiv  The income provided by JobKeeper was an important part of the Australian fiscal policy response more generally.
Around the world, governments responded to the economies' need for support. Their scope to provide that support has varied according to individual country circumstances. But in the main, advanced economies have provided more support than was the case in other downturns over recent decades.