Doorstop – Devonport Jobs Fair
Topics: Labour force figures, Devonport Jobs Fair.
E&OE
MINISTER ROBERT:
Look, it’s great to be here in Devonport with my good friend Gavin Pearce here at the Devonport Jobs Fair, a Federal Government initiative that's about connecting job seekers, people looking for work with work available. Inside, there is over 700 jobs available right now. Resume services and everything you can imagine. One of the 34 jobs fairs the Federal Government has run. And it's great to see this happening today, Gavin, especially here in Devonport, as a national employment numbers have been released. Unemployment now at 5.6 cent. Pleasingly, the participation rate is 66.3 per cent is the highest it's been, up two percentage points. Underemployment is down. And very pleasingly, participation for women is at the highest it's been in the job market. Over 70,000 jobs created in the last month. It just shows that the Morrison Government's comeback plan we’re working on, it’s working and our economy is coming back.
JOURNALIST:
How much weight have you got in these figures, because they were last month’s and don’t take into account the end of JobKeeper?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Today’s figures are pleasing. They show the comeback plan is working. They show a steady increase. Almost 950,000 jobs have come back since the height of COVID. And today, of course, over 70,000 jobs being created in the last month. So it shows we're in the right direction. There's a lot more to do in workforce, in skilling, not just in job fairs like we've got today, but ensuring opportunity is there for all Australians.
JOURNALIST:
Do you expect the unemployment rate to be higher in the next lot of figures?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Well, let's wait and see what the next lot of figures have got. These figures, of course, at the very end and coming down of JobKeeper. But again, the Government's JobTrainer program is kicking in. It's available now since 1 January across the country; 300,000 training places subsidised by state and Federal Government. It’s a billion-dollar initiative. Over 90,000 of those are already taken up. So I'm looking forward to seeing that skilling Australia process coming to its fullness.
JOURNALIST:
How many people are you expecting to lose their jobs this month as a result of JobKeeper ending?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Treasury's analysis, and they demonstrated this during the Senate estimates period, is somewhere between 100,000 to 150,000 was their estimate of jobs that may come off at the end of JobKeeper.
JOURNALIST:
What do you have to say to these people that are losing their jobs as a result of [indistinct]?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Today's numbers show that our comeback is indeed working. There's a lot more to do. There are Australians who are hurting, but many, many Australians are also finding jobs. We’ll continue to lean into it. I'd say to all Australians: they need to reskill. If they go to see what JobTrainer and just simply googling JobTrainer, 300,000 positions to reskill Australians. And what we're seeing not just in jobs fairs like here at Devonport, but in terms of record levels, decade-high, in terms of not just confidence, but job advertisements available now that opportunities are there as we continue our comeback post-COVID.
JOURNALIST:
So overall rate is down, but participation rate is virtually unchanged, what does that tell you?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Well, participation rate has gone up from 66.1 to 66.3. It's the highest it's been. It's higher than pre-COVID. So I think that tells us that Australians are looking to be actively involved and looking to get work. And that's really good.
JOURNALIST:
What’s the point of holding a job fair like this one today when some employers are having to let their staff go because they just can’t afford to keep them on?
MINISTER ROBERT:
We're holding it today because there are over 30 employers right now with 700 jobs. You can walk in right now to the job board and pull that job off, over 700 them from all areas of the economy, from no-skilled, semi to high-skilled, right across the board. That's why we're holding it today.
JOURNALIST:
There’s been a lot of focus in getting the younger demographic jobs. What about older people that are looking to re-enter the workforce. What is there for them?
MINISTER ROBERT:
There are seven wage subsidies the Federal Government is running, including a wonderful wage subsidy for older Australians, where $10,000 is available as a subsidy to employers to employ an older Australian. And the great thing walking in today, and Gavin and I have seen it, is there are so many older Australians who are here taking jobs off the board to engage with them. So there are subsidies available for employers to employ older Australians. JobTrainer is there for reskilling all Australians, including older Australians. And what Devonport's Jobs Fair is showing us is that there are well and truly jobs available.
JOURNALIST:
Has JobKeeper been wound back too soon?
MINISTER ROBERT:
I think the numbers today, unemployment at 5.6, the highest rates of female participation, and participation in general show that JobKeeper has been wound back probably right in time.
JOURNALIST:
But Minister, those figures – they don’t have the data from when JobKeeper ended. How can you say that?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Because at some point, JobKeeper, as a temporary program, has to come off. It's been scaling down from its high levels up until the end of March. It's now coming off when we're seeing consumer confidence, the highest in 12 years. We're seeing the highest rates of job advertisements in over a decade. We're seeing the highest rates of participation. If there was a time for JobKeeper to come off, now's a good time. Tremendous. Thanks very much.