Forty three years and six months after the Whitlam government was elected, both Labor and the Coalition had been in government for the same amount of time (21 years and 9 months).
In that time:
Annual employment growth was 0.216% higher under Labor. Given the size of today’s labour market that amounts to 25,710 extra jobs per year. Since 1972 565,000 addition jobs were created under Labor.
Overall quarterly GDP growth was 0.03% higher under Labor. In today’s dollar terms that’s approximately $1.7 billion per annum. Over 22 years that’s accumulates to a difference of nearly $40 billion, about $1600 per person.
Since 1972, the Coalition has delivered half a million less jobs and $40 billion less in growth than Labor. It is time for the myth about the Coalition being better economic managers to end.