SA records highest jobless rate in the nation for second month in a row

South Australia has the highest jobless rate in the nation for the second month in a row, according to new figures.

South Australia’s unemployment rate has dropped slightly but is still the highest in the nation, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released on Thursday.

It is the second month in a row the state has had the highest jobless figure in the country.

SA’s unemployment rate now sits at 6.8 per cent, down from 7.1 per cent last month.

Queensland again has the second highest jobless rate at 6.1 per cent, while the ACT has retained its position as having the lowest rate at 4.1 per cent.

Australia’s average unemployment rate sits at 5.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, the state’s youth unemployment rate is also the highest in Australia at 18.1 per cent, ahead of the next highest rate of 15.1 per cent, recorded by Queensland.

SA’s participation rate – which refers to the total number of people who are employed or looking for work – increased by 0.3 per cent to 62.4 per cent however the rate is the second lowest in the nation.

Tasmania has the worst participation rate at 61.7 per cent.

The total number of employed South Australians increased by 6,600 people to 847,400, compared to the previous month.

Innovation and Skills Minister David Pisoni said the economic recovery from COVID-19 remained “a work in progress”.

“It is encouraging to see more South Australians in work, fewer unemployed and an increased participation rate but there is more work to be done,” he said.

“With the Commonwealth’s JobKeeper scheme concluding on March 31, it is likely that the employment figures will bounce around during the next few months.”

Mr Pisoni said the ABS’s single touch payroll data, which was released on Tuesday, showed SA outperformed all state and territories, except Western Australia, for the total value of employee wages paid since the COVID-19 low point, up 9.8 per cent, compared to 7.8 per cent nationally.

He also said the construction industry would continue to play an important role in the long-term recovery of the state’s economy from COVID-19.

Master Builders Association chief executive officer Will Frogley said the construction industry had been a rock for SA’s economy.

“Building and construction is the third largest employer in our state and has added nearly 3000 jobs this financial year,” he said.

“There are now about 71,000 South Australians directly employed in our industry.”

Opposition Treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said it was “completely unacceptable” that SA had again recorded the worst unemployment rate in the country.

“The Premier likes to tell us that this is the best place in Australia to weather the coronavirus pandemic, but it seems that’s the case as long as you’re not looking for a job,” he said.

As The Advertiser reported last month, SA’s jobless rate for January was the highest in Australia at 7.1 per cent, followed by Queensland on 7 per cent.

The ACT has the lowest unemployment rate at 4.4 per cent at the time.

The ABS figures also revealed more than 12,000 South Australians lost their job in January and there were 64,1000 unemployed people in the state.

The State Government last month described the result as “disappointing” while the Opposition called them “gut-wrenching” and called for more to be done to turnaround the figures.