Climbing youth unemployment concern

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures released today show the unemployment rate has risen to 5.8 per cent, with 734,200 Australians unemployed.

Shadow employment and workplace relations minister Brendan O’Connor says of particular concern is the climbing youth unemployment rate; it jumped from 12.4 per cent to 13.2 per cent.

“With 280,500 young people unemployed,” O’Connor said “Australians need more than the Turnbull government’s cruel plans to force young people to live without any support for a month, while also encouraging them to take up exploitative supermarket internships.

“Since the election of the Abbott-Turnbull government 47,600 more Australians have joined the unemployment queue,” he said.

“Government’s slogan has absolutely nothing underpinning it.”

The number of underemployed people remains of concern to the Opposition with more than one million Australians wanting more work but unable get it, due in part to the fact there have been 18,900 full time job losses since December.

“Despite campaigning for the past two months on ‘jobs and growth’, the average unemployment rate under the Abbott-Turnbull government compared to the last Labor government is much higher at 6 per cent compared to Labor’s average unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent,” the shadow minister said.

“This is despite Labor navigating the global financial crisis.

“The reason there is such a drastic difference is because Labor always puts people first and jobs at the heart of policy decisions.

“The government’s slogan has absolutely nothing underpinning it,” he said.

“Liberals are bereft of a jobs plan.”

South Australia continues to be a particular cause for concern with the unemployment rate increasing to 7 per cent.

“At a time when wages growth is at record lows, now is not the time for the Liberals’ attack on wages and conditions,” O’Connor said.

“Underemployment, insecure work, and low wages growth is of concern to Labor because it is not good for people and it is not good for economic growth.

“The Liberals are bereft of a jobs plan; in fact everything on their agenda has been about attacking pay, work and conditions.

“Labor will always be the party of jobs.”

“They want to cut penalty rates; they want young people doing exploitative internships instead of getting real jobs; and they were responsible for workers being dragged off vessels and sacked in favour of foreign crew.

“Labor will always be the party of jobs and will strive to secure a future for unemployed Australians through a fairer, more equitable employment market.

“We encourage the Liberals to adopt our policies such as the new jobs tax cut and working futures that will actually drive jobs and growth,” he added.

This article originally appeared in the Labor Herald.