May 18, 2012

The number of South Burnett jobseekers registered to receive allowance payments has risen each month since November 2011.

Statistics released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations show there were 583 jobseekers registered at the Kingaroy Centrelink office in November receiving either Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance.

This rose to 611 in December, 655 in January, 658 in February and 669 last month.

It is important to note that these figures reflect the number of people receiving payments, not the official unemployment figure.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics and DEEWR use different definitions to identify the unemployed and different counting methods.