Small Drop In Unemployment

February 23, 2017

Unemployment fell by just 0.3 percentage points in Wide Bay over the past 12 months, figures released on Thursday by Treasurer Curtis Pitt reveal.

But Wide Bay’s overall unemployment rate of 9.6 per cent was still more than most other regions.

Mr Pitt said overall unemployment rates fell from January 2016 to January 2017 in:

• Cairns (down 0.4 percentage point to 7.6 per cent)
• Logan-Beaudesert (down 2.1ppt to 5.6 per cent)
• Moreton Bay North (down 0.2ppt to 6.6 per cent)
• Moreton Bay South (down 1.0ppt to 3.9 per cent)
• Darling Downs-Maranoa (down 0.4ppt to 3.6 per cent)
• Fitzroy (down 1.0ppt to 6.3 per cent)
• Mackay (down 1.9ppt to 5.7 per cent)
• Gold Coast (down 0.1ppt to 5.3 per cent)
• Sunshine Coast (down 1.2ppt to 4.7 per cent)
• Wide Bay (down 0.3ppt to 9.6 per cent)

Youth unemployment in both the Wide Bay and Darling Downs-Maranoa areas continued to rise.

• Darling Downs-Maranoa (up 0.7ppt to 9.0 per cent);
• Queensland Outback (up 8.2ppt to 36.6 per cent)
• Sunshine Coast (up 2.1ppt to 10.8 per cent)
• Toowoomba (up 2.1ppt to 10.4 per cent)
• Wide Bay (up 3.8ppt to 24.5 per cent)

Mr Pitt said the latest regional and youth unemployment figures should prompt regional employers to beat next Tuesday’s deadline for accessing the State Government’s $20,000 Back to Work Youth Boost payment.

“The Palaszczuk Government has implemented a range of programs to generate jobs in regional Queensland and employers and business owners should take advantage of them,” Mr Pitt  said.

“Our Back to Work Youth Boost payment offers $20,000 to employers hiring 15-24 year olds before February 28.”

Mr Pitt said since its December 2016 launch 162 employers in regional centres had received support payments for the 237 young Queenslanders employed under the Back to Work Youth Boost, with a further 253 applications pending.

He said in addition, 642 employers had employed 1384 regional Queenslanders under the Back to Work scheme operating since July last year that provided grants of $10,000 and $15,000 to employers hiring unemployed or long-term unemployed jobseekers. A further 192 Back to Work applications were pending.

“I urge regional employers who haven’t taken advantage of the Back to Work program to do so today, especially the Back to Work Youth Boost,” he said.

For more information about the Back To Work program, visit the State Government website