When is a jobs crisis not really a jobs crisis? When the state government says it isn’t.
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Several months ago, this masthead, in an editorial piece on unemployment, called on the state government to do more to arrest the ever-climbing jobless rate in Northern Tasmania.
A day later, the Treasurer slammed that editorial, claiming it was already acting to address the North’s jobless problem.
Well, whatever action it was taking has failed. It’s time to stop blaming past governments. It’s time to stop talking up other indicators.
If people can’t get jobs, then they have no genuine quality of life.
Ultimately, they will either give up looking for work altogether or simply move to another state where there is work.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures released on Thursday show a worrying trend for Tasmanian jobseekers.
In August, Tasmania’s workforce shed 300 full-time jobs in trend terms – from 154,700 in July to 15,400 in August.
This was offset by a rise of 200 part-time jobs for a net loss of 100 for the month.
That loss pushed the state’s unemployment rate up 0.1 percentage points to 6.7 per cent in trend terms in August.
The number of Tasmanians out of work is now 17,000 – up 200 from the previous month.
However, given our perilously low participation rate of 59.6 per cent, that figure is far from what it would be in real terms.
The harsh reality is, the state’s jobs figures are at their weakest level since just after the Hodgman Government was elected.
And remember, the Liberals came to power on the back of a pledge to create 8000 jobs in its first term. That figure currently sits at a rather gaunt 1600.
Of the three regions, the North is struggling more than anywhere, with unemployment around a full per cent higher than in Hobart or on the North-West Coast.
That prompted the state government to all-but admit its failings.
In a release on Thursday, it said that “while the North-West and the South continue to perform strongly, the two-speed economy remains an issue in the North and the government is considering what additional action we can take to address the issue”.
The time for excuses are over. It’s time to act and put plans in motion to get people in Northern Tasmania into meaningful work.