Interview — 5AA Mornings with Graeme Goodings
GRAEME GOODINGS:
Well, Scott Morrison yesterday at the National Press Club, said that he expects unemployment rate to fall below four per cent. Love to see a number with a three in front of it, he said. And that's a level not seen in Australia for almost 50 years. The unemployment rate fell to 13-year low in December of 4.2 per cent. Is it realistic? Joining me now is Stuart Robert, Federal Minister for Employment. Minister, good morning to you.
MINISTER ROBERT:
Graeme, Great to talk to you.
GRAEME GOODINGS:
These figures sound great – sound rosy, but is it really realistic? Can we get the unemployment down to those numbers?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Absolutely. In fact, the Reserve Bank Governor will say as much today when he addresses the Press Club. With unemployment at 4.2 per cent, an unprecedented investment in skilling and training Australians, highest number of trade apprentices – 220,000 – since records were kept since 1963. And of course, an economy that's growing and moving forward; more Australians in jobs now than pre-COVID. All of that bides very well to achieve what the Prime Minister has outlined: unemployment rate with a three in front of it in the second half of this year.
GRAEME GOODINGS:
The Prime Minister, at the Press Club, admitted yesterday that he'd been too optimistic before the Omicron outbreak. Is there a chance he's being too optimistic this time?
MINISTER ROBERT:
I don't believe so. The economic forecast - the Reserve Bank Governor, of course, also concurs, and will say as much today. Where our numbers are heading, just in terms of the unprecedented level of training. If you think about Australians right now who aren't in work, 80 per cent of them have no skill. That's over 600,000 who are on our jobactive case number, and that's where all the effort’s going in terms of skilling and training. It’s why we’ve got unprecedented numbers in the apprenticeship programs. And we know the Internet Vacancy Index has over 270,000 jobs available right now, and walk down any street, you'll see people looking for staff. So, as we connect those Australians looking for work with skills, connect them with jobs available, that's our path to achieving full employment in this country for the first time in 50 years. Absolutely achievable, Graeme.
GRAEME GOODINGS:
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese was on our Breakfast program on 5AA this morning, and he said Australians are saying they want additional hours, but they're not getting them.
MINISTER ROBERT:
With so many jobs going, the additional hours, and the work is there – 270,000 positions available circa, that the Internet Vacancy Index tells you as much. The work - the employers screaming out for more employees and shortages across the country, all of those hours and workers are there. Now it varies across the country. It varies from gig-working through to established and small business. We all know that, and every community is different. But all of the data, including anecdotally, shows that there is opportunity there for Australians, as long as they can get the skill, and that's what the government is investing in. We're going to see these numbers continue to come down, which is great for families, great for communities.
GRAEME GOODINGS:
As you say, there are lots of jobs out there for people to take. But are they long-term jobs, or just short-term, casual, part-time?
MINISTER ROBERT:
Again, it varies consistently right across the board, from the gig economy right the way through to full-time, industrialised and other positions. This is why training is so important, why we're investing in the skills agenda, why there's $2 billion in JobTrainer, 273,000 Australians right now in free or low-fee training designed for them. The economy will always put up positions right across the spectrum. But the growth in full-time work is continuing to increase. And pleasingly in the last eight years we've seen a million women employed, and we've seen youth unemployment come down to the lowest level in a decade, which is just superb.
GRAEME GOODINGS:
I know it’s just speculation, but the predicting unemployment rates of – in the threes, under four per cent, has this been brought about largely because of the pandemic? I mean, would we be looking at these sorts of figures if the pandemic didn't exist?
MINISTER ROBERT:
It’s a difficult question, and hypotheticals are always fraught. What we do know is the economy was strong going into the pandemic – the Federal Government’s budget was balanced. And that allowed us, of course, to respond in unprecedented ways, in Australian ways, to support our economy. Now, that support we gave through COVID ensured that we didn't get long-term impacts or scarring of the market, the scarring we saw in the 1992 recession and, of course, the 2008-2009 GFC response. So we've avoided that. We've invested heavily in training and skilling, and we're now seeing an economy coming out strongly. That's the key thing: $424 billion, the Treasurer outlined a day or two ago, on individual and company balance sheets, which speaks about the strong need, and the strong opportunity for consumption, so I'm very optimistic.
GRAEME GOODINGS:
Stuart Robert, Thanks for your time today.
MINISTER ROBERT:
Graeme, as always, lovely to talk.
GRAEME GOODINGS:
Stuart Robert, Federal Minister for Employment.