January 19, 2017
Queensland’s unemployment rate is the worst in the nation, the State Opposition said on Thursday.
In a reply to the State Government’s “Works For Queensland” jobs program announcement, the Opposition claimed more jobs were disappearing the Queensland than any other State in Australia.
And Shadow Treasurer Scott Emerson said the State’s true job situation could be even worse, because unemployment was rising despite a fall in the participation rate as tens of thousands of people give up looking for work.
“Last year will go down as a disastrous year for Queensland job seekers, capped off by 13,700 job losses in December,” Mr Emerson said.
“The situation in Queensland is dire. We are seeing massive and nation-leading job losses, coupled with the overwhelming exodus of people from the labour force – meaning they are no longer reflected in the numbers.
“People are giving up looking for work in record numbers and unemployment is increasing. This is bad news for Queensland.”
Mr Emerson said it didn’t matter the measure – trend or seasonally adjusted – it was clear Queensland was falling behind.
“The Treasurer’s preferred trend measure shows 34,400 job losses in 2016 and that a further 37,000 people gave up their search for work. Again, Queensland was the worst in Australia on these two fronts,” he said.
“The story is just as bad on the seasonally-adjusted measure, with almost 31,000 jobs disappearing last year.
“Queensland’s unemployment rate, which is far higher than the national average, would even higher if the participation rate was not in freefall.
“It’s hardly surprising things have got so bad here in Queensland. The State Government has slashed $3 billion from infrastructure spending and its “do nothing” approach has driven business confidence through the floor.
“Restoring a fraction of the billions of dollars in cuts to infrastructure won’t restore confidence in regional Queensland or go anywhere near making up for the economic damage done.”
Footnote: According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the South Burnett’s unemployment rate at the end of the September quarter – the latest figures available – was 8.6 per cent. This is 2.1 per cent better than the situation in September 2015, when it was 10.7 per cent.
- Related article: $4.2m Jobs Boost For South Burnett
