One in five hospitality, arts and recreation employees stood down in NSW

Workers in the hospitality and arts and recreation sectors have borne the brunt of job losses as a result of Sydney’s lockdown.

A woman wearing a face mask walks through a quiet Martin Place in Sydney. Picture: AFP

One in five hospitality and arts and recreation employees in NSW were stood down over the first half of July, as new data shows banks offered repayment deferrals to more than 10,000 ­borrowers in the state.

An Australian Bureau of Statistics report shows that over the two weeks to July 18 there was a 4.4 per cent drop in the number of NSW workers paid through the Australian Taxation Office’s ­single-touch payroll system. That drove a 2.4 per cent national ­decline, against a 0.2 per cent dip in the preceding fortnight.

Accommodation and food services payroll jobs fell by 9 per cent, and by 19 per cent in NSW. The arts and recreation sector showed losses of 4.5 per cent nationally, and 18 per cent in NSW.

In Greater Sydney, the total number of payroll jobs in the ATO’s system dropped by 5 per cent, the data shows.

Ernst & Young chief economist Joanne Masters said there was “clearly a hit to the labour market” as a result of severe Covid-19 health measures in the country’s biggest city.

Evidence of the dramatic ­impact on working Australians from stay-at-home orders came as new figures from the Australian Banking Association show lenders have granted 15,000 loan ­deferrals to businesses and households since July 8.

Over the past month, more than 14,500 home loans were deferred, and more than 600 business loans. About 75 per cent of the deferred loans were in NSW.

While thousands of firms and individuals struggled to meet their financial obligations during the recent lockdown, the number remained a “fraction” of the levels seen during last year’s national lockdowns, the ABA said.

During the peak of the crisis in 2020, almost half a million home loans and more than 225,000 business loans were deferred.

As the Greater Sydney outbreak spread north to Newcastle, triggering restrictions in the Hunter Valley region, Victorians from Thursday night will join southeast Queenslanders in lockdown.

 

ABA chief executive Anna Bligh said “banks stand ready to assist customers who need help”.

The two weeks of the ABS payrolls report coincided with school holidays in every state and territory, the second and third weeks of the Sydney stay-at-home ­orders, increased Covid-19 ­restrictions in other parts of NSW, and the first two days of the fifth lockdown in Victoria.

After NSW, the next hardest-hit region was the ACT, which recorded a 2.4 per cent fall in total payroll job numbers. Every jurisdiction recorded a drop in ­employees, including a 1.9 per cent decline in Victoria. Queensland, where payroll jobs dropped 1.1 per cent, was the least affected.

CBA senior economist Belinda Allen said: “Our concern is that the extended lockdown in ­Greater Sydney will lead to spillovers in other states.

“Greater Sydney is a large and important economy, and with ­recent lockdowns in other states and closure of state borders we could see job losses in other states where disaster relief payments are not in place.”

The hit to official unemployment would be apparent in the August labour force data, released in September, she said.

The jobs numbers show a 1.9 per cent fall in construction workers paid through the ATO’s system in the fortnight to July 18, but that was before the temporary closure of Sydney’s building sites on July 19.

There were still 2 per cent more payroll jobs in mid-July than in March 2020 when the pandemic first struck.

ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said: “Payroll jobs held by women and workers under 30 were particularly impacted, especially in NSW.”

The number of employed women in the ATO’s payroll ­system dropped by 2.8 per cent, versus 2 per cent for men.

A payroll job is recorded in the ABS report only if an employee is paid through their employer’s payroll in their most recent pay period. If not, they fall out of the payroll series even if they were still attached to their employer.

Ms Masters said this “may be one factor that is potentially overstating the number of job losses”.

The official labour force data due on August 19 will provide ­further details of jobs lost.