Tasmania has topped a quarter of a million jobs for the first time ever … again.
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The state was previously thought to have topped 250,000 jobs in June, July and August, but the Australian Bureau of Statistics later revised those figures downwards.
On Thursday, it estimated the state gained 200 jobs in October, taking the total to 250,100.
It estimated Tasmania had added a net 2300 jobs since October 2017.
Full-time jobs were unchanged at 156,500 in October, meaning all the month’s growth came from part-time work.
The number of employed males increased by 300 to 130,900, while the number of employed females dropped by 100 to 119,200.
Men continued to dominate full-time roles.
There were 101,200 male full-time workers and 55,300 female full-time workers in October.
Both numbers were unchanged from September.
The number of unemployed Tasmanians decreased by 100 to 15,200.
The unemployment rate dropped from 5.7 per cent to 5.6 per cent, which was its lowest since September 2011.
As well as the extra jobs, part of the reason for that was a drop in the participation rate from 61 per cent to 60.8 per cent.
Tasmania had the lowest participation rate of any state or territory.
Tasmania’s North and South have had strong jobs gains in recent times, but the North-West and West Coast have shed jobs.
The North-West and West averaged 900 fewer jobs per month in the year to September than in the previous year, according to ABS original terms figures.
There have been early statistical signs of a potential return to jobs growth in the region.
Launceston and the North-East gained 2000 jobs on the same measure.
Hobart and the South-East gained 3900.
Regional figures for the year to October will be released on November 22.
The ABS estimated the nation added 32,800 jobs in October in seasonally adjusted terms.
Even so, the number of technically unemployed Australians increased by 4600 to 672,100, more than Tasmania’s entire population.
Of those, 445,400 were looking for full-time work and 226,700 for part-time work.
The ABS said “well over” 300,000 people gained employment in October and more than 300,000 left employment.
The national participation rate ticked up slightly from 65.5 per cent in September to 65.6 per cent.
The national unemployment rate was steady at 5 per cent.