AAP

Unemployed workers will receive a permanent $50 a fortnight increase to the JobSeeker payment once the coronavirus supplement is scrapped.

Two nurses have become the first Western Australians to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, saying they hope it will save lives and ease the strain on the healthcare system.

Steelmaker BlueScope has reported a 78 per cent increase in its half year profit, while announcing a chief executive for climate change within the group.

Premier Mark McGowan has likened the coronavirus pandemic to World War II, positioning Labor as the safe choice at next month's election.

Australia's share market had its biggest fall in more than three weeks, set in train from the US where worries continued over a struggling economy and inflation expectations.

Relatively high confidence among shoppers and the continued drop in the unemployment rate saw modest retail spending growth in the first few weeks of 2021.

Insurer QBE has elected not to declare a final dividend, recording a statutory net loss after tax of $US1.5 billion ($A1.93 billion) following last year's $US550 million profit.

Biotech giant CSL says it has accelerated the manufacture of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine with the first doses planned for release in late March.

At least 5,000 Western Australians should be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-March with hotel quarantine workers to be among the first recipients.