Victoria’s strong economy continues to translate into new jobs, with the state’s unemployment rate now below the national rate, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday 19 May.
Victoria’s unemployment rate now sits at 5.6 per cent – the equal second lowest unemployment rate in Australia – and well below the 6.9 per cent it reached under the previous Liberal government.
Labour force figures released by the ABS show that the seasonally adjusted employment increased by 10,800 in April 2016, to a record high of 11,917,200 at a steady rate of 5.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the participation rate has remained steady, and annual job creation over the past 12 months stands at 244,700.
“This is more good news for Victoria and shows us rightfully reasserting ourselves as a national powerhouse of economic activity and jobs creation,” Treasurer Tim Pallas said.
“These new jobs are being generated by an increasingly confident business and consumer community, supported by the strong economic momentum the Andrews Labor government has created in its first 18 months of office.
“Strong financial management, with the recent Victorian Budget mapping out strong surpluses, is ensuring that when it comes to our promise to create more jobs for Victorians, we are getting it done.”
Mr Pallas, who stressed that since the Andrews Labor government was elected, a total of 113,500 jobs have been created throughout Victoria, is confident the state’s labour market is expected to remain robust.
“Youth unemployment also continues to fall and is now almost two percentage points lower than this time last year,” he added.
“Recent trends in leading indicators of employment growth, such as job advertisements and job vacancies, indicate that solid jobs growth is likely to continue in the near term.”