During the election campaign that began on Monday, opposition leader Anthony Albanese faced scrutiny for not addressing questions from reporters about unemployment numbers and interest rates. Prime Minister Morrison criticized Labour's economic management skills and lack of a clear plan for the country's economic recovery from the pandemic. Despite polls indicating that Albanese's Labour party was leading, Morrison remained the preferred leader according to the surveys. Albanese later apologized for the mistakes made during the economic discussion. Quoting one of Taylor Swift's popular songs, he mentioned that he will "Shake it off" in response to reporters asking about the potential impact of a mistake on Labor's election chances. Albanese stated that he believes in taking responsibility for his actions and owning up to any mistakes he may make. Morrison highlighted his government's achievements in reducing the unemployment rate to 4% despite facing numerous challenges such as fires, floods, a pandemic, a global recession, and economic pressure from China. Initially, Albanese stated that he believed the current unemployment rate was around 5.4%. Morrison referred to cricket when saying "We have the runs on the board" and emphasized their plans to boost job creation in order to strengthen the economy. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg stated that the new jobs would be spread throughout the economy. Economists predict that Australia's unemployment rate will drop to the 3% range ahead of central bank forecasts, with some expecting it to go below the budget forecast of 3.75%. Wage growth is expected to increase, but not enough to keep up with inflation, resulting in a decrease in real incomes this year. To calm upset voters, the budget in March raised a tax break for 10 million low- and middle-income earners and provided one-time cash payments for pensioners along with a temporary reduction in fuel taxes.