Tasmania’s jobs boom is continuing, but it remains to be seen if the northern regions are starting to benefit.
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The state gained 800 jobs in July in trend terms, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found.
July was a 12th straight month of jobs growth, with 9500 jobs added in that time.
The July growth took total jobs to a record 246,100.
Most recent jobs growth has taken place in the South.
Regional figures for July will be released on August 24.
In the year to the end of June, the South had an average of 1400 more jobs per month than it did in the previous year in original terms.
However, North-West and West Coast employment was down by 300 on the same measure, while the North had gained just 100 jobs.
The West and North-West had an average monthly unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent for the year, the North a state’s highest 6.9 per cent and the South 5.9 per cent.
The statewide figures for July showed continued improvement in full-time jobs after a sharp decline which saw thousands of them replaced by part-time jobs.
Of the 800 extra jobs for the month, 600 were full-time.
That meant the state had gained about 1700 full-time jobs and about 7800 part-time jobs in the past year.
The unemployment rate ticked up by 0.1 per cent to 6.1 per cent in July.
That was because of an increase in the participation rate (the percentage of people aged 15 and over working or actively looking for work) to 61.2 per cent, which was the highest since January 2015.
Shadow Treasurer Scott Bacon welcomed the improvements in total jobs and the participation rate.
“It’s critical that the participation rate keeps going up; we need as many Tasmanians engaged in the workforce as possible,” Mr Bacon said.
“Labor identified the participation rate and full-time employment as big challenges in Tasmania’s economy.
“It’s encouraging to see both improve over the last six months.
“It’s crucial that the government holds up its end of the bargain by investing in public infrastructure to stimulate the economy.”
He said the private sector had done the heavy lifting through strong investment, especially in the South.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein said the July figures showed the government was getting on with the job of delivering what it promised, with 600 of July’s new jobs being full-time.
Mr Bacon said it was crucial all parts of the state benefited from improving economic conditions.
“That’s why Labor has identified key infrastructure projects right across Tasmania, including in health, tourism and water and sewerage,” he said.
“Projects like six new child and family centres, the Devonport Integrated Care Centre and significant investments in regional tourism will underpin employment.”
The estimate of Tasmanians formally unemployed increased by 200 to 15,800 in July.
That does not include people who would like to work but are not actively looking, or people who work some hours and would like more.
The nation added 27,900 jobs in July, seasonally adjusted.
However, full-time jobs decreased by 20,300, with part-time employment increasing by 48,200.
The national unemployment rate dropped from 5.7 per cent to 5.6 per cent, with the participation rate up slightly to 65.1 per cent.
Monthly hours worked in all jobs dropped by 0.8 per cent (14.4 million hours).
About 730,600 Australians were unemployed, which was up by 1100.
