Victoria’s jobless queues grow in July as restrictions bite

Victoria’s second wave and associated restrictions have come at the expense of jobs, the latest ABS payrolls figures confirm.

The effects of the reimposition of restrictions in Victoria were evident in the July payrolls figures from the ABS. Picture: Ian Currie

Victoria shed payroll jobs in July while the national labour market steadied, as the second wave of COVID-19 infections and associated restrictions weighed on the country’s economic recovery.

The number of Victorian employees registered in the Taxation Office’s one-touch payroll system fell by 1.5 per cent over the month to July 25, versus a slight 0.1 per cent decline nationwide, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

NSW has not been immune from the stuttering nature of the recovery since Victoria began implementing additional restrictions from early last month, as the state recorded a 0.3 per cent drop in jobs over the month.

In contrast, the number of payroll jobs in Queensland lifted 0.9 per cent, while South Australia recorded the strongest gain of 1.5 per cent.

Nationally, between March 14 – when Australia recorded its 100th coronavirus case – and July 25, payroll jobs are now down 4.5 per cent and wages are 4.8 per cent lower.

This compares with the 8.5 per cent collapse in the number of jobs and a 6 per cent fall in total wages by mid-April, from which point the improving health outcomes and an earlier than expected lifting of social distancing measures sparked an improvement in labour conditions.

The outbreak of new COVID cases in Melbourne has sent that recovery into reverse in the state and sparked new job losses.

Around 40 per cent of jobs lost in Victoria by mid-April had been regained by June 25, but by the end of July this had reduced to 24 per cent, ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.

Nationally, accommodation and the arts and recreation sectors remained the most heavily affected by the health crisis by late July, with payroll jobs down 17.9 per cent and 15.1 per cent, respectively, since March 14, the ABS reported.

The ABS will release the labour force survey on Thursday, with the consensus forecast among economists that the unemployment will rise to 7.8 per cent from 7.4 per cent in June.