PM Scott Morrison announces huge ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ unemployment goal

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made a big promise that could see him break an almost 50-year record, and experts say he’s close.

Experts say Prime Minister Scott Morrison is close to his goal after making a bold call in an attempt to win back voters as he faces plummeting popularity and pressure from the pandemic.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday Mr Morrison pledged a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to drive down Australia’s unemployment rate, in what are “key” to the government’s chances at securing an election win.

While admitting being “too optimistic” before the Omicron outbreak, Mr Morrison said “we’re all terribly sorry for what this pandemic has done to the world and to this country”, but urged voters to focus on economic recovery and an unemployment goal not seen in nearly 50 years.

Australia’s unemployment rate has fallen from 6.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent in one year but according to Mr Morrison, it could fall further.

“That’s what economic resilience looks like but you must project that into the future with a clear plan,” he said.

“In 2022 our focus is squarely on locking in our economic recovery to create jobs, jobs and more jobs.

“We are passionate about getting Australians into jobs and we have the experience, the track record and the economic plans that back this up,” Mr Morrison said.

“I believe we can now achieve an unemployment rate with a three in front of it this year. Our goal is to achieve this in the second half of 2022,” he said.

“We have not seen this in Australia for almost half a century. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

According to theFinancial Review, the last time the rate fell below four per cent was in November, 1974.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the National Press Club. Picture: Rohan Thomson/Getty Images

The outcome of Mr Morrison’s call will be seen only after the election, but according to experts the PM might make good on his promise.

In a statement, the Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe forecast “high numbers of job vacancies suggest further gains in employment over the months ahead”.

The RBA’s central forecast is for the unemployment rate to fall to below 4 per cent later in the year and to be around 3¾ per cent at the end of 2023, Mr Lowe said.

Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy at Australian National University predicted “the 50-year low is closer than it seems”.

“The unemployment rate was better than it looked,” he wrote in The Conversation.

“Calculated to several decimal places rather than the usual single place, the December rate was 4.157 per cent – within a hairsbreadth of the historic low of 3.981 per cent achieved in February 2008 at the height of the mining boom; the only time in the modern era the rate slipped below 4 per cent.

“To get below 4 per cent from here on, and to get below the previous long-term low, would only require an extra 25,000 people in jobs.”

The PM was savaged in the latest Newspoll, his worst since the 2018 leadership change, and is set to use the economy as the “battleground” for the next election as the nation steers its way through the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are passionate about getting Australians into jobs, and we have the experience, we have the track record, and we have the economic plans that back this up,” Mr Morrison said.

“They change families. They change communities. They give Australians purpose and independence. They free them from the clutches of welfare and dependence.

“As we approach this year’s election, this means strong economic management is more important than ever.

“We must grow together. And that’s something I think the Liberals and Nationals bring together in what is quite a unique Coalition for this country and is so important for Australia’s future.”

Originally published as PM Scott Morrison announces huge ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ unemployment goal