The coronavirus crash hit jobs harder in Tasmania than in any other state, but there was a slight recovery in the last week of May.
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Tasmania lost 9.5 per cent of its jobs between March 14 and May 30 as the crisis reached its apparent peak, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures based on payrolls.
The nation shed 7.5 per cent of jobs in the same period and every other state and territory except Victoria (9 per cent) lost significantly smaller proportions of jobs than Tasmania.
"Our relatively poor performance compared with other states so far could be because we have a larger proportion of employment in sectors that have been more severely impacted, notably tourism ...," economist Saul Eslake said on Tuesday.
"Noting that Victoria has also been doing relatively poorly, it could be because we've - like the Vics - been more cautious about easing restrictions than other states and territories."
Mr Eslake said that might work to Tasmania's advantage in the long run.
Our relatively poor performance compared with other states so far could be because we have a larger proportion of employment in sectors that have been more severely impacted ...
- Saul Eslake
The figures showed Tasmanian jobs increased by 0.3 per cent in the week to May 30, with jobs up by 0.4 per cent nationally.
Mr Eslake said the week ending on May 9 was Tasmania's low point, with jobs down by 9.9 per cent since the week ending on March 14.
He said that was equivalent to about 25,800 jobs.
Wages had fallen by an average of 10.2 per cent between March 14 and May 30 for those Tasmanians who kept their jobs.
Mr Eslake said that was much more than a national average wages decline of 8.3 per cent.
Tasmanian female employment was down 11.1 per cent since the week ending on March 14 and male employment down 7.7 per cent.
"Women who've kept their jobs have seen their wages fall less (down 7.8 per cent) than men who've kept theirs (down 11.6 per cent), probably reflecting the fact that women typically earn less than men, so the JobKeeper payment represents a higher proportion of women's pre-shutdown income than it does of men's," Mr Eslake said.