Full-time employment in Tasmania has fallen for the fifth consecutive month though the unemployment rate has remained steady.
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest state jobs data on Thursday showing that Tasmania lost 600 full-time jobs in December but jobs overall grew by 220.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein chose to focus on the state’s 6.4 per cent unemployment rate and slight jobs growth in interpreting the data.
He said there had been 3300 new jobs created since the Liberals took government in 2014.
“The Hodgman Government knows that not everyone is feeling the benefits of our growing economy, which is why we remain firmly focussed on supporting job creation as our number one priority,” Mr Gutwein said.
Opposition finance spokesman Scott Bacon said more than 4500 full-time jobs had vanished since April 2016.
“Part-time work is no replacement for a full-time job,” he said.
“We need to create employment that Tasmanians can rely on to raise a family.”
A joint university study, commissioned by the federal Employment Department, released on Thursday found that 58 per cent of the 3800 people aged 18 to 29 surveyed had performed unpaid work in the last five years to gain paid employment.
Just under 40 per cent of the participants had to do unpaid work as part of a TAFE, university or other educational course, with the rest doing so for other reasons.
Unions Tasmania youth engagement officer Adam Clarke said he believed young people were commonly exploited by employers who tell them that they have to do unpaid work in order to get a look in for a job.
“As of December there are 7300 unemployed young people under the age of 24 in Tasmania and there are only 2000 job vacancies across the entire state,” he said.
“As work becomes more precarious the last thing we need to happen is for those people actually performing work not to be paid for it.”
Mr Clarke said unpaid work that lasted for days was illegal and any person faced with this situation should contact Fair Work Australia.
“A work trial can only go for as long as it takes for you to demonstrate your capacity to perform a task,” he said.
“Most unpaid work trials should go for less than an hour.”
Youth Network of Tasmania chief executive Joanna Siejka said work experience was a good way to get a foot in the door for a good enough job.
“But the expectations need to be carefully worked out and managed within ethical lines,” she said.
“Work experience can be valuable if it is meaningful.”