- Published:
- Thursday 25 February 2021
Almost 14,000 people found work in regional Victoria in the three months to January 2021, as jobs figures showed regional Victoria is sharing in Victoria’s jobs recovery.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics employment data released today shows Victoria’s regional unemployment rate dropped by 0.5 percentage points to 4.6 per cent in the three months to January, well below the national regional average of 5.7 per cent.
Regional Victoria has experienced the strongest job growth of any regional area in the country – 12.2 per cent since the Andrews Labor Government was elected in November 2014.
The Andrews Labor Government continues its proud record of investment in regional Victoria, with policies targeted at boosting the regions and creating jobs across the State.
This includes $465 million delivered in the Budget for the Victorian Tourism Recovery Package to attract new tourists and support local jobs in the regions, including the Victorian Regional Travel Voucher Scheme to encourage people to visit and stay in regional Victoria
The Victorian Budget 2020/21 also delivered for regional workers with a $4.7 billion investment in country road and rail upgrades, including $2 billion to progress Geelong Fast Rail.
As its centrepiece, the Budget had a Jobs Plan because we understand a job means certainty and security for workers and their families.
This includes Jobs for Victoria, a $619 million investment that will help those most impacted by the pandemic: women, young people and Victorians without a formal qualification, but plenty of experience – and includes $250 million to partner with employers to subsidise the wages of at least 10,000 new workers.
The Labor Government has also committed to a new $2 billion Breakthrough Victoria Fund, with agri-food one of its dedicated focus areas, providing a further boost to regional Victoria.
A further $50 million will upgrade our ag colleges at Dookie, Longerenong and Marcus Oldham College, and support TAFEs and other bodies to deliver best-practice education and training for the agriculture innovators of tomorrow.
Recent state-wide ABS data showed Victoria’s economy is continuing to bounce back with more jobs created in Victoria than anywhere else in the nation in January. More than 43,000 people found employment in Victoria in January alone.
Quotes attributable to Treasurer Tim Pallas
“Another nearly 14,000 regional Victorians are back in work with all the dignity and independence that means.”
“This rise in jobs combined with a drop in the unemployment rate shows we’re trending in the right direction for a healthy and recovering economy.”