Yahoo Finance ASX up, Aussies getting older and 4 other things to start your day
ASX: The local share market is expected to edge higher this morning despite a poor session on Wall Street overnight.
Ageing population: Australia never quite got the COVID-lockdown baby boom some experts were expecting and, instead, our population got older.
Australia's population is ageing faster thanks to COVID-19 and this is expected to put pressure on a shrinking pool of workers.
New government population data found the median age grew from 38.4 years to over 40 within a decade.
Anti-crash? A smart traffic system that could warn drivers about potential collisions, road accidents, hazards and congestion is closer to launching in Australia after the Government asked for feedback on the technology.
The Co-operative Intelligent Transport System could send internet-connected vehicles alerts based on their location and let smart vehicles "talk" to one another about potential hazards or hard-to-see pedestrians.
Sick leave: The Victorian government has been tight-lipped on how its trial of sick pay for casual workers would be funded if it became a fully fledged scheme.
Almost 10 months into a $245 million, two-year trial, Victoria's sick pay guarantee has paid out about $19 million and received more than 80,000 claims from casual and contract workers without such entitlements.
Housing crisis: The wait list of people needing social housing in NSW has increased for the first time since 2016, with about 1,000 more people in line for a home.
As of June 2022, there were 51,031 approved for social housing but waiting for a property to become available, compared to 49,928 the year before.
Job losses: Amazon will lay off a further 18,000 roles as part of a workforce reduction it previously announced, CEO Andy Jassy told staff.
The layoff decisions, which Amazon will communicate starting from January 18, will largely impact the company's e-commerce and human resources organisations, he said.
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