A further 800 Tasmanians were employed in December but Labor fears the positive shift could be hampered by the JobKeeper cut off in March.
Australia's unemployment rate decreased to 6.6 per cent and Tasmania's decreased to 7 per cent.
In November, 253,300 were employed in the state, in December this number increased by 800 people to 254,100 people.
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Premier Peter Gutwein said the statistics confirmed the state's economic recovery was underway and a significant number of job were returning.
"Over three quarters of those who lost their job during the pandemic have now returned to work," he said.
"Our unemployment rate continues to fall, with a significant drop of nearly one percentage point which is now more in line with the national rate.
"In further good news, Tasmania also saw the highest increase in hours worked during the month of any state, growing 1.3 per cent in December, and hours worked are now higher than one year earlier."
Labor's treasury spokesperson David O'Byrne said the JobKeeper cut off in March threatened employment, especially as big employers, such as tourism, hospitality and retail, were continuing to feel vulnerable in the COVID world.
"Our youth unemployment is the highest in the country at 16.5 per cent and Tasmania also has the worst male unemployment rate, with 1400 more men losing their jobs in December," he said.
"Underemployment also continues to be a serious problem with 8.7 per cent of employed men and 11 per cent of women wanting more hours of work."
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Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
