Natural Disasters and Labor Markets: Impacts of Cyclones on Employment in Northeast Australia

Abstract Natural disasters can have significant impacts on businesses in affected regions. More particularly, cyclones are of growing interest in the literature. Yet, a perusal of the literature indicates that the impacts of natural disasters on labor markets in Australia are an understudied area. This chapter seeks to close that gap and examines the impacts of cyclones on labor markets and associated aspects such as employment, earnings, and livelihoods in Northeast Australia. A twofold approach was adopted: a review of the literature and subsequent document analysis. Data was gathered from newspaper articles and was collated in NVivo to identify extant themes. This document analysis showed that cyclones impact on businesses and workers in many ways and that the road to recovery and rebuilding is fraught with financial and psychological distress. It also shows the resilience of the people, businesses, and community in the face of such critical events.