Treasurer Peter Gutwein on Thursday said the government will reveal a plan to improve the state’s unemployment rate in the coming weeks.
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It comes after new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed unemployment is at its highest since February, with 6.7 per cent of Tasmanians out of work.
“We do recognise that in Tasmania there is a two-speed economy, that the North hasn’t risen as fast as the South, and we’re considering some options at the moment as to what we can do to rectify that,” he said.
IT technician Joshua Legg has found himself out of work in Launceston despite 12 years experience.
Mr Legg has been underemployed for two years, and is part of the 9.7 per cent of working Tasmanians who find themselves with not enough work to get by, which increased by 0.1 per cent in the month to August.
Despite being self-employed, Mr Legg said he classes himself as unemployed, as he only receives 2-3 jobs a week on average.
He said he has received over 12 interviews this year, and has even resorted to applying for jobs not in his field.
“It's depressing, you feel like every month that goes by you're losing your position on possible employment, and you need to reskill,” Mr Legg said.
The latest regional data on Launceston and the North East revealed unemployment sat at 7.2 per cent in July, compared to 5.4 per cent for Hobart.
The August figures showed the participation rate, often believed to account for hidden unemployment, held steady at 59.6 per cent, although participation has dropped by 1.6 per cent since January 2015.
Underemployment and unemployment both rose by 0.1 per cent in August, with the percentage of 15 to 24-year-olds unemployed and not in full-time education increasing by 2.3 per cent in original terms.
Launceston Chamber of Commerce executive officer Jan Davis said we needed to examine the definition of employment in the ABS before scrutinising the figures.
According to the ABS, employed persons are defined as those aged over 15 working one hour or more.
She questioned whether working such little hours constituted employment.
Opposition Leader Bryan Green said the dwindling participation rate showed Tasmanians had given up looking for work.
“Our manufacturing base has collapsed, the dairy industry is obviously struggling, the poppy industries been cut in half in recent times, there’s difficulties associated in important sectors of the economy, and the government is not providing the necessary vision,” he said.
