More Than 333,300 Jobs Lost Since July

11 November 2021

While the Morrison-Joyce Government was preoccupied with its own infighting, another 46,300 Australians lost their jobs in October.

RICHARD MARLES MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY
SHADOW MINISTER FOR NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION, EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS AND SMALL BUSINESS
SHADOW MINISTER FOR SCIENCE
MEMBER FOR CORIO

JIM CHALMERS MP
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR RANKIN

MORE THAN 333,300 JOBS LOST SINCE JULY

While the Morrison-Joyce Government was preoccupied with its own infighting, another 46,300 Australians lost their jobs in October.

That’s on top of the 287,000 jobs lost since July.

This is yet another reminder that the recovery is patchy and uncertain for too many Australians at risk of being left behind.

According to labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released today, between September and October the jobless rate rose from 4.6 per cent to 5.2 per cent – the highest since April.

Youth unemployment has climbed from 10.8 per cent in September 2021 to 13.1 per cent in October 2021, its highest level since January.

Over 1.4 million Australians were still stood down last month, getting no hours at their jobs.

The underemployment rate also grew, meaning thousands of workers are not getting enough hours at work to support themselves and their families.

This means the effective unemployment rate – which includes people stood down and who lost their jobs - was 15 per cent in October, almost triple the conventional unemployment measure.

According to the ABS, the economic brunt has been felt the hardest in states and territories that have been exposed to recent COVID-19 outbreaks;

In Victoria, unemployment went up by 0.9 percentage points to 5.6 per cent, underemployment rose to 11.3 per cent, while participation dropped by 0.4 percentage points.

Across New South Wales, unemployment went up by 0.8 percentage points to 5.4 per cent, and underemployment increased to 10.6 per cent.

Across the ACT, unemployment went up by 2.5 percentage points to 6.6 per cent.

It follows a report from the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) that 80 percent of people receiving JobSeeker payments – a record high of 826,000 people – have had to rely on income support for more than a year.

We know that the longer people are disconnected from work, the harder it is to re-enter the jobs market.

These numbers only provide a small snapshot of the pain which so many working Australians and businesses are going through right now.

The Morrison-Joyce Government has been repeatedly tone-deaf in ripping away JobKeeper and the COVID Disaster payment too quickly.

It must do everything it can to make sure businesses and workers can survive the pandemic.

THURSDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2021