Jim Chalmers flags sustained full employment as employment white paper goal

The white paper, which builds upon the outcomes of last year's Jobs and Skills Summit, is expected to set out how the government plans to oversee sustained full employment, boost productivity, foster wage growth, upskill the workforce and increase labour participation.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the document will "guide and complement" policy work across the government to achieve these ambitious goals.

"The [white paper] is a roadmap for ensuring more Australians can make the most of the big shifts under way in our economy and society over the coming decades," Dr Chalmers said.

"It outlines our vision for a more dynamic and inclusive labour market in which more people have opportunities for secure, fairly paid work in a country where workers, employers and communities can be beneficiaries of change and thrive."

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In the view of many economists, the economy is already operating at, or in excess of, full employment.

The jobless rate has veered between 3.5 and 3.7 per cent this year and although it is expected to increase as the economy slows, the government does not expect it to rise above 4.5 per cent.

But the government faces a thornier challenge in reviving the nation's lacklustre productivity performance, which has been flat for most of the past decade and declined sharply in the June quarter by 2 per cent.

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