World trade is expanding at a rate never experienced before in our economic history. Firms in Australia must not only compete with local competitors, they must also face competition from imported goods and services. The demand for labour in Australia and the wage paid for it, must be assessed on an international basis. Many industries are undergoing structural adjustment as production facilities are moved to low wage areas of Asia. This is not necessarily a bad thing; it can mean cheaper goods and services for Australians in general. The TCF industries (textiles, clothing and footwear) are rapidly reducing employment and production in Australia for this reason.

The demand for labour is changing rapidly in particular industries as a result of technological change. Growing computerisation has seen capital becoming relatively cheaper than labour, and many industies (such as the financial sector) actually employ less staff today than they did twenty years ago, despite the fact there are more banks and ''non-banks'' operating in Australia today than there were twenty years ago.

Changes in technology have also seen changes in the pattern of consumer demand. For example, what teenagers buy in the 1990's is very different from what teenagers in the 1950's bought. This has impacted on production, and employment, within Australia.