'Where are all the jobs?' Surprise at employment figures

UNEMPLOYMENT on the Sunshine Coast is the lowest it's been since 2008, but that's news to job seekers who can't seem to get a leg up.

Brett Clark has been looking for a full-time job since April last year. Unemployment on SC is lowest its been in years, but hes still struggling to find a job. Currently works as a traffic controller, but its only part-time. Picture: Warren Lynam

THE unemployment rate on the Sunshine Coast is the lowest it has been since 2008, but that's news to job seekers who can't seem to get a leg up.   

Brett Clark, 57, was made redundant from his media job last April following a 20-year career and has been struggling to make ends meet ever since.   

Trying to broaden his skills with a range of tickets only led to promises of jobs, but nothing concrete.   

Mr Clark then did a traffic control course and picked up work instantly, but the part-time nature of the job means he's only just keeping his head above water as he tries to support himself and his children.   

Unemployment figures on the Coast are down to 5 per cent, compared to Brisbane's 5.4 per cent, a figure that shocked Mr Clark.   

The region's job growth rate is sitting at 8.1 per cent, compared to 5 per cent for Brisbane and 4.6 per cent for Queensland as a whole.   

"If the unemployment is so low on the Coast then where are all the jobs?" Mr Clark asked.  

"I used to tell people to go where the work is, but now I'm in the situation and my children are settled."  

Despite being keen for any type of work and applying for more than 15 full-time jobs a day, Mr Clark said a "catch-22" was making it difficult.   

"You can't get a job without experience and you can't get experience without a job," he said.   

When May Miles and her children moved from Sydney to Sippy Downs about a month ago, she wasn't expecting work in the childcare sector to be so hard to find.   

After working four to five days a week before she moved north, Mrs Miles said the only work that seemed to be available here was in cleaning and aged care, which required qualifications.   

"You have to go back to school, or you have to go to TAFE," she said.    

Originally published as 'Where are all the jobs?' Surprise at employment figures