Tasmania tops unemployment nationally, but Premier Gutwein unfazed

Premier Peter Gutwein has played down the news Tasmania’s unemployment rate has jumped to the highest in the nation for April and reveals why the job market is looking up >>

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TASMANIA’S unemployment rate has jumped to the highest in the nation at 6.2 per cent for April.

The state’s jobless rate rose 0.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms, up from 5.9 per cent in March after JobKeeper ended on March 28.

Underemployment has dropped from 10.0 per cent to 9.1 per cent — but also remains the highest in the nation.

Premier Peter Gutwein said the usual data series had been disrupted by the pandemic, so the figures needed to be treated with caution.

“One thing that needs to be noted is that we are using seasonally-adjusted figures rather than trend, and they are volatile,” he said.

“What is comforting is that in terms of the job vacancies for the month of April there were more than 3000 job vacancies, in fact up 75 per cent on where they were the previous year. “So in that regard we have a jobs-rich environment out there.”

The ABS says there was 17,000 Tasmanians out of work in April, with a further 23,600 underemployed.

“In terms of the feedback that I’m receiving from employers across the economy, they are looking for people,” Mr Gutwein said.

“As I’ve said on many occasions, our single biggest challenge is ensuring that we can get the work done, our single largest opportunity is providing pathways for Tasmanians to take on those jobs.”

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein. Picture: Chris Kidd

Labor Member for Franklin Julie Collins said: “These are terrible figures for the thousands of Tasmanians who have now lost a job.”

“Scott Morrison is apparently visiting our state tomorrow and he must come clean on why Tasmanians have been left behind by his government,” she said.

Australia’s jobless rate dropped from 5.6 per cent to 5.5 per cent in April, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data released on Thursday.

ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said it was the sixth consecutive fall in the nation’s unemployment rate, down from 6.9 per cent in October 2020.

“The unemployment rate is now 0.2 percentage points, or 33,000 people, above the start of the pandemic,” he said.

“Importantly, it’s two percentage points below its peak in July 2020, when it was 7.4 per cent,” Mr Jarvis said.

“The youth unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since the Global Financial Crisis, reflecting a strong increase in employment for young men, following a number of increases for young women in recent months.”

Originally published as Tasmania tops unemployment nationally, but Premier Gutwein unfazed