Read all the latest news from Brendan O'Connor MP
Read all the latest news from Brendan O'Connor MP
Today’s labour force figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirm the growing concerns of the labour market.
There are nearly 120,000 more Australians looking for work or looking for more work than there was a year ago. Total employment decreased by 19,000 Australians in the last month alone.
Over the past year, under the Morrison Government, the number of unemployed Australians has increased by over 57,500 and the number of underemployed has increased by over 60,500.
The data for the month of October reveals the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rising to 5.3 per cent, and the underemployment rate rising to 8.5 per cent.
Almost 2 million Australians are looking for work or for more work because the economy is floundering on the Liberals' watch.
The underemployment rate for the month of October is far too high at 8.5 per cent and the underutilisation rate is 13.8 per cent.
There are almost 2 million Australians looking for work, or more work, but unable to find it.
Under the Morrison Liberal Government, serious structural issues in the labour market continue to generate insecure work and low wages growth.
Just last month, the IMF’s World Economic Outlook slashed Australia’s economic growth forecasts so that Australia’s growth this year is expected to be slower than the US, Spain and Greece.
As Treasurer and now Prime Minister, Scott Morrison has presided over the lowest wages growth since records began – slowing further since the election to just 2.2 per cent.
Less than a week ago the Liberals were claiming that wages growth was going up but the latest figures show that annual wages growth actually went down in the September quarter.
Australians are struggling, and the economy is floundering – but try telling that to Scott Morrison and the Liberals who are sitting on their hands and hoping the economy fixes itself.
It’s high time the Morrison Government stopped spending all its time playing politics and focussed on coming up with a genuine plan to lower the number of Australians looking for work or for more work that has skyrocketed on its watch.