Record job losses
PM: April figures ‘terribly shocking’
AUSTRALIA’S unemployment rate jumped to a seasonally adjusted 6.2 per cent in April after the economy lost a record 594,300 jobs in the month following coronavirus-related lockdowns.
The rise in the unemployment rate – from 5.2 per cent in March – reflects the full monthly impact of strict social-distancing measures imposed in late March, which led to widespread business closures.
There was a decrease of 220,500 full-time jobs and 373,800 part-time positions, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed yesterday.
While a record rise, the spike in the jobless rate was lower than expected with economists, on average, having expected the unemployment rate to jump to 8.2 per cent with about 575,000 jobs lost in the month.
The lower unemployment rate was probably due to a significant drop in the participation rate – or the percentage of people looking for work, which fell by 2.4 percentage points to 63.5 per cent, reflecting the weak job market.
This was underlined by the underemployment rate – or the rate of people looking for more working hours – jumping 4.9 percentage points to 13.7 per cent and the underutilisation rate also spiking 5.9 percentage points to 19.9 per cent.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (inset) described the figures as “shocking”.
“This is a tough day for Australia. A very tough day. Almost 600,000 jobs have been lost. Every one of them devastating for those Australians, for their families, for their communities,” he said.
“A very tough day. Terribly shocking, although not unexpected.”
ABS data showed hours worked in April, in seasonally adjusted terms, were down 9.2 per cent from the previous month.
The ABS estimated that a combined group of 2.7 million people were affected by either job loss or having their hours reduced for economic reasons between March and April.
The biggest rise in unemployment was in Tasmania, where the jobless rate rose to 6.2 per cent – in line with the national rate – from 4.9 per cent. Queensland hit 6.8 per cent from 5.7 per cent, while New South Wales rose to 6 per cent from 4.9 per cent.
Victoria’s jobless rate also rose to 6 per cent, from 5.2 per cent, South Australia hit 7.2 per cent from 6.3 per cent, Western Australia 6 per cent from 5.4 per cent and the Northern Territory 6 per cent from 5.5 per cent. The Australian Capital Territory rose to 4.2 per cent from 3.2 per cent.
South Australia now has the highest unemployment rate in the country, with Queensland not far behind, while the ACT has the lowest.
Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank forecast gross domestic product could shrink by 10 per cent in the first half, with unemployment hitting 10 per cent by June.