Northern Territory records worst rise in unemployment rate in Australia
The Northern Territory has seen a dramatic jump in its unemployment rate in the month of March, with the impact of the end of JobKeeper yet to flow through. SEE THE STATS here.
Northern Territory
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THE Northern Territory was the worst jurisdiction for jobs growth in Australia in the month of March, new data released on Thursday showed.
But the NT still has the highest proportion of people working, with our participation rate at 72.7 per cent, well above the national average of 66 per cent.
The figures are yet to show any impact of the federal government winding up the JobKeeper program at the end of March.
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The Territory saw a 1.2 per cent decline in the number of employed people in the three months to March 2021, new Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.
The disappointing result is at odds with the Australia-wide figure, which saw the number of jobs grow by 0.5 per cent.
CommSec chief economist Craig James said monthly data could be erratic but said the NT’s result was at odds with a “spectacular” national result.
“Particularly the Territory and the ACT are smaller economies, so while at face value the lift in the unemployment rate is disappointing, it follows stronger months,” Mr James said.
“The average is 5.5 per cent, so really the unemployment rate this month is not too different from the average over the last six months,” he said.
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Mr James said the statistics were yet to reflect any impact from the end of JobKeeper.
“JobKeeper was clearly a key support for the employment market, and that ended at the end of last month,” he said.
“What we’re still waiting to see is the influence jobkeeper had.”
“Job advertisements continue to soar, so there’s plenty of opportunity for people to get jobs.”
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