Figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed full-time employment grew by 62,000, while 48,000 part-time jobs were lost.
Participation rate remained steady at 64.9 per cent as did the unemployment rate at 5.6 per cent due to the creation of 14,000 jobs.
Chief Economist for the ABS Bruce Hockman said. “Full-time employment now accounts for about 68 per cent of employment, however this is down from around 72 per cent a decade ago.”
In the ABC News report on the ABS figures, CommSec’s chief economist Craig James is quoted saying the increase in growth in full-time jobs should cause Australians to “fret less and celebrate more”.
However, pointed out that the recent improvement has not been enough to offset a longer-term trend towards part-time work.
BUSY At Work CEO Paul Miles said while it is promising to see growth in full-time employment he warned businesses not to be complacent.
“It’s great to see this full-time employment trend continue for the ninth month consecutively, however let’s not lose sight of the fact that we are down in full-time employment from a decade ago.
“Now is a great time for businesses to consider taking on an employee or apprentice as there’s a big focus on jobs at federal and state level in Queensland.
“There’s some excellent incentives for businesses to take on new employees and sign up apprentices or trainees. These incentives help stimulate the economy and can help grow small to medium size businesses, who otherwise, may not have the capacity to grow on their own,” Mr Miles said.
Incentives include Back to Work and the $20,000 Youth Boost payment.
The federal government’s budget also provides tax incentives along with the introduction of the $1.5 billion National Partnerships Skilling Australia Fund aimed to deliver an additional 300,000 apprentices and trainees over the next four years.
For further information about the ABS figures visit: www.abs.gov.au or the Back to Work ‘Youth Boost’ scheme.
For information on the budget visit www.budget.gov.au or www.budget.qld.gov.au
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MEDIA CONTACT: Leanne Macnamara, Public Relations Coordinator
0438 173 960 leanne.macnamara@busyatwork.com.au
Source:
ABS
ABC News
More details are in the June 2017 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0). In addition, further information, including regional labour market information, can be found in the upcoming June 2017 issue of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed – Electronic Delivery (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001), due for release on 27 July 2017.
These publications are available for free download (after release) from the ABS website.
