SA unemployment rate hits 7.1 per cent, nation’s highest

More than 12,000 South Australians lost their job in January alone, as the state’s jobless rate hits the highest in the nation.

South Australia now has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released Thursday.

The State Government has described the result as “disappointing” while the Opposition says more needs to be done to turnaround the “gut-wrenching” statistics before JobKeeper ends next month.

SA’s jobless rate now sits at 7.1 per cent, following closely by Queensland on 7 per cent.

The ACT as the lowest jobless rate at 4.4 per cent. It was 6.4 per cent last month.

The figures also showed more than 12,000 South Australians lost their job in January. There are 64,100 unemployed people in the state.

It also revealed there are 16,600 fewer South Australians in work than when the coronavirus pandemic first broke out in March last year.

Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said the Government’s economic response to the pandemic had consistently failed.

“This is a gut-wrenching result for South Australia, which once again has the worst unemployment rate in Australia,” he said.

“To lose more than 12,000 jobs in a month is a significant blow to our economy – worse by the fact we still have more than 77,000 people relying on JobKeeper, which is due to end next month.”

Labor’s treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said Premier Steven Marshall “needs to get cracking with stimulus, he needs to commit more money, get it out the door more quickly and finally get moving on … infrastructure projects”.

Innovation and Skills Minister David Pisoni described the labour force figures as “disappointing”.

“The ongoing impact of the pandemic means that the employment figures will continue to bounce around until will are able to return to normal economic conditions,” he said.

“The ABS figures show that over the longer term the trend in employment is positive and that South Australians should continue to remain optimistic about the state’s economic prospects.”

Mr Pisoni said the government’s $4 billion stimulus package aimed to counter the economic impact of the pandemic over the short, medium and long-term.

Australia’s unemployment rate fell from 6.6 per cent to 6.4, with 29,000 new jobs added nationally during January.

The number of employed people in Victoria rose 1.3 per cent – the most of any jurisdiction.

Full-time employment figures also increased by 59,000 people, while part-time employment decreased almost 30,000, which experts have deemed positive.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the figures had beaten market expectations and were “good news” for Australia.

“We’ve seen the underemployment rate fall to 8.1 per cent – the lowest level since 2014,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“And when you look across the country and the states’ performance, Tasmania is leading the way at 5.9 per cent unemployment.”

Mr Frydenberg said the labour market would continue to be resilient when the JobKeeper wage subsidy ends in March.

“There are regions, there are sectors, there are many Australians who are still doing it tough,” he said.

“But the overall trajectory in our labour market has been in the right direction.”

The participation rate – the number of people employed or looking for a job – increased by 0.1 per cent over the month.

Unemployment numbers dropped by 34,300 people, pushing down the 6.6 per cent rate recorded in December.

It is the first time since April 2020 that the unemployment rate sits at 6.4 per cent.

ABS head of labour statistics, Bjorn Jarvis, said labour market continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“January 2021 was the fourth consecutive monthly rise in employment, as employment in Victoria continued to recover,” he said.

The number of hours worked during the first month of the year fell 4.9 per cent.

But Mr Jarvis said it was different to the declines across April and May last year.

“After a tough 2020, more Australians than usual took leave in the first two weeks of January, particularly full-time workers,” he said.

“However, the number of employed people who worked zero hours in early January in the capital cities also reflects some ongoing effects of recent lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.”

The youth unemployment rate remained at 13.9 per cent in January, while youth participation fell just 0.2 points.

The underemployment rate dropped 0.4 points to 8.1 per cent.

HOW EACH STATE FARES

VIC – 6.3 per cent, down 0.2 points

NSW – 6 per cent, down 0.3 points

QLD – 7 per cent, down 0.5 points

SA – 7.1 per cent, up 0.7 points

WA – 6.2 per cent, down 0.1 point

TAS – 5.9 per cent, down 1.1 per points

NT – 5.6 per cent, up 0.2 points

ACT – 4.4 per cent, up 0.7 points

GROUPS REACT TO LATEST FIGURES

Master Builders SA chief executive, Will Frogley, said the soar in unemployment in the state should be a wake up call.

Mr Frogley said construction employed more Australians than any other industry and without a booming residential building sector the rate would “definitely be higher”.

“Longer term state government incentives for investors to build new homes are badly needed to not only create jobs but address the current rental property shortfall,” he said.

“A strong pipeline of commercial building work is absolutely essential and the Marshall Government has the opportunity to make a statement in this year’s Budget.”

MORE TO COME

Originally published as SA unemployment rate hits 7.1 per cent, nation’s highest