Victoria’s regional unemployment rate has dropped to 5 per cent in the December quarter, the lowest it has been since the Andrews Labor Government came to office in November 2014.
The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed regional employment increased by 16,400 persons for the December quarter, the highest increase in Australia.
The unemployment rate dropped 0.8 points in the quarter, with the annual pace of total job creation in regional Victoria still leading the nation.
Across the quarter, there were 7,500 new jobs in the Latrobe-Gippsland region, Ballarat saw an increase of 7,700, and Warrnambool and South West 4,400.
The Hume region’s unemployment rate dropped from 6 per cent to 4.4 per cent, and Shepparton’s from 7.1 per cent to 5.7 per cent.
Across the 2016 year, Geelong’s employment increased by 7,800 people, Bendigo by 7,000 and North West by 6,300.
Since the Labor Government came to office, an extra 43,300 regional Victorians are now gainfully employed – including 9,400 on a full-time basis.
The figures come off the back of last week’s ABS data, which showed an extra 118,500 people were employed in Victoria in 2016, 67,800 of these full-time. There have been almost 200,000 new jobs created in Victoria since November 2014.
Victoria’s labour market is expected to remain robust, with recent trends in leading indicators of employment growth, indicating solid job growth is likely to continue.
Quotes attributable to Acting Treasurer Robin Scott
“We’re delivering the things that matter for people in regional and rural Victoria – growing a stronger economy that creates more jobs and opportunities for Victorians.”
“We’ve worked hard to reverse the poor management of the last Liberal National Government – growing a strong economy that creates opportunities for all.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Employment Wade Noonan
“These strong jobs numbers show that the Andrews Labor Government is changing people’s lives for the better.”
“We saw in Portland just last week how important stable employment is for the families and livelihoods of regional Victorians, and we’ll continue investing to put more people into work.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020