More than 211,000 Queenslanders out of work this Christmas

Almost a quarter of a million Queenslanders are heading into Christmas without a job this year, about 41,000 more than in 2019.

The state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.7 per cent in November, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal, while the national jobless rate dropped to 6.8 per cent.

Queensland’s unemployment rate remains at 7.7 per cent. Credit: Louise Kennerley

Australia’s unemployment rate was 1.7 percentage points higher than the same time last year, while the rate in Queensland was 1.4 per cent above the November 2019 rate.

The ABS data shows 20,300 jobs were sucked out of the Queensland economy last month.

LNP Small Business spokesman Brent Mickelberg said the total number of unemployed people dropped by 1900, but the data indicated these people had given up trying to find a job.

People must be actively looking for a job, and be available to start work, to be included in the unemployment figures.

“While employment across the rest of Australia improved, Queensland continues to stagnate, with the state’s 7.7 per cent unemployment rate remaining the second-worst in the nation,” he said.

“More than 210,000 Queenslanders want a job and can’t find one. In the last month alone 20,300 Queenslanders lost their job.

“Before the election, Labor told Queenslanders they were borrowing to protect jobs and yet, despite racking up the biggest debt in our state’s history, unemployment is forecast to still be the worst in the nation in four years’ time.”

In February, the month before Queensland went into lockdown, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 per cent.

Queensland budget papers predicted it would take until June 2024 for Queensland’s jobless rate to drop back to 6.5 per cent, and was still expected to be higher than NSW (5.25 per cent) and Victoria (5.75 per cent).

Treasurer Cameron Dick said “recovering from COVID-19 will be a four-year marathon and there will be setbacks”.

“That’s why we’re working to rebuild Queensland’s manufacturing base and delivering the biggest four-year infrastructure program in a decade.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told Parliament last month that opening the state’s border to NSW and Victoria for Christmas would mean “jobs, jobs and more jobs. It means a jobs bonanza”.

“It means that employers can now put on more people in the retail sector, more people in hospitality and more people across our restaurants and our cafes.

“More people in our performing arts sector can go back and get jobs. We know how hard our artists have been impacted. We have seen in some parts of Queensland a 200 per cent to 250 per cent increase in accommodation bookings.

“What does that mean? It means jobs in the lead-up to Christmas.”