Eased restrictions drives down jobless rate

The unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6 per cent, with 366,100 jobs created in November.

‘This time has been the busiest compared to coming out of other lockdowns,’ says James Ambrogio, manager of Sure Store clothing store in Melbourne. Picture: Ian Currie

More than 320,000 jobs were ­created in Victoria and NSW in November as the two states eased Covid restrictions, driving the ­nation’s unemployment rate down to 4.6 per cent and reversing the previous month’s jobless ­increase.

The Coalition seized on the 0.6 per cent fall in the jobless rate, with Scott Morrison calling Australia a “jobs machine” and Josh Frydenberg describing the ­creation of 366,100 jobs as an “incredible set of numbers”.

With the cost of living shaping as a central theme at the upcoming election, Labor and the union movement highlighted the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook’s forecast of a real wage cut for workers this financial year.

While inflation is predicted to increase by 2.75 per cent in the year to next June, wages are forecast to grow by just 2.25 per cent over the same period, with Treasury predicting annual wages growth will not outstrip the CPI until June 2023.

The ACTU accused the Prime Minister of delivering workers “a pay cut for Christmas” and Labor’s Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers said the Coalition’s economic management was defined by the “twin failures of stagnant wages and insecure work”.

Federal Treasury predicts the unemployment rate will be 4.5 per cent by June 30 before falling to 4.25 per cent over the forward estimates, resulting in the creation of 150,000 more jobs than forecast in the May budget

According to the latest monthly labour force figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday, full-time employment increased by 128,300 to 9,052,900, and part-time employment increased by 237,800 to 4,124,400.

Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said: “The latest data shows the extent of recovery between early October and early November in jurisdictions coming out of Delta lockdowns.

“This included the period of relatively rapid recovery in the second half of October that we saw in payroll jobs data.

 

“The easing of restrictions in both NSW and Victoria had a large influence on the national figures, with employment in the two states increasing by 180,000 people and 141,000 people between October and November.”

Victoria’s jobless rate dropped 0.9 per cent to 4.7 per cent and NSW fell 0.8 per cent to 4.6 per cent. South Australia fell 0.7 per cent to 4.6 per cent; Queensland fell 0.4 per cent to 4.8 per cent; and Western Australia dropped 0.1 per cent to 3.8 per cent. Tasmania remained unchanged at 5.1 per cent.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs increased in November by 76.7 million hours, or 4.5 per cent, to 1801 million hours.

The underemployment rate decreased by two points to 7.5 per cent, leaving the rate 1.3 points lower than March 2020.

 

The ­employment-to-population ratio tipped over 63 per cent for the first time since the ABS began recording the measure in 1978.

Shoe and street-clothing Sure Store manager James Ambrogio said two new casual staff had been employed in the Melbourne city laneway store to cover extra shifts over the holiday period.

He said the city had been hit hard due to lockdowns and was the last area to bounce back after each coronavirus outbreak.

Despite some concern about the spread of the Omicron variant and the effect it might have on the recovering economy, Mr Ambrogio said he noticed a steady flow of customers returning after Melbourne reopened following it’s sixth lockdown.

“This time around it has been the busiest compared to coming out of other lockdowns,” he said.

“We‘d like to say, ‘Yeah, everything’s good and … we can happily move on’ but given the uncertainty of everything, we don’t know what’s around the corner.”