Unemployment rates on the rise

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 11/06/2009

Reporter: Chris Uhlmann

The unemployment rate has risen again but the Prime Minister says Australians should still be optimistic.


LEIGH SALES: The jobless rate's on the rise again after falling unexpectedly in April.

Jobs actually held up in most industries with the rise largely due to new entrants to the workforce being unable to find employment.

The figures also show a surge in the number of people who want full-time work and can't get it.

Nevertheless the Prime Minister says Australians have every reason to be optimistic.

Political editor Chris Uhlmann reports.

CHRIS UHLMANN, REPORTER: The grim jobless march continues.

KEVIN RUDD, PRIME MINISTER: Today we have seen an increase in unemployment to 5.7 per cent, returning to where it was in March this year.

CHRIS UHLMANN: The commonly used unemployment rate's been bouncing around as the economy slowed and it dropped unexpectedly in April. But the Bureau's trend rate tells another tale, rising steadily since September,

JULIA GILLARD, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: The trend in these statistics is clear and the trend is that we are experiencing increased unemployment as a result of the global recession.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Queensland's seasonally adjusted jobless rate has tipped over 5 per cent. Unemployment's also up in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia. The trend rates a better measure in smaller jurisdictions and it's up in Tasmania and the ACT and steady in the Northern Territory. The jobless rate ticked down in South Australia. But there's third tale wrapped in the numbers.

WARREN HOGAN, ANZ: We're not actually losing many jobs; we're just seeing the participation rate rise and the number of people entering the workforce rise.

KEVIN RUDD: Employment remains fairly steady falling by 1,700.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Full-time employment fell by 26,200. However that was all but erased by 24,500 new part-time jobs.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Balancing that is a worrying rise in the number of people who want full-time work and can't get it.

MALCOLM TURNBULL, OPPOSITION LEADER: Every sinew of Government policy, every effort must be made to pursue those three key priorities; jobs, jobs, jobs.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Kevin Rudd says every effort is being made.

KEVIN RUDD: Treasury has estimated that without our nation building plan, over 200,000 more Australians would be out of work.

CHRIS UHLMANN: But unions want the Government to ensure its billions are spent buying Australian goods and services.

DAVE OLIVER, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS UNION: We are renewing our calls for those projects to ensure that we are maximising local content, to get the best bang for buck because the overall objective is about sustaining jobs.

CHRIS UHLMANN: While builders are being encouraged to source locally, it won't be a condition of contracts.

SIMON CREAN, TRADE MINISTER: The challenge for us is that there's lots of markets we can't get into, and that's why we have to spend so much effort breaking down those markets and getting access. We won't do it if we join the downward spiral to protectionism and mandating the purchase within a country is protectionism, pure and simple.

CHRIS UHLMANN: There's clearly growing confidence in Government about the outlook for the economy, the Prime Minister sounding increasingly bullish.

KEVIN RUDD: Australians have every reason to remain confident that we will continue to weather the storm of the global recession better than most other advanced economies.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Kevin Rudd's growing optimism perhaps explains some of his recent adventures in Stone Age strine.

KEVIN RUDD: Fair shake of the sauce bottle, mate.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Alas, press criticism of that shook out this.

KEVIN RUDD: Well, I was having a dad and Dave this morning - that's a shave - and picked up my copy of the Oz and I saw it was George Megalogenis having a go at me and I thought, fair crack of the whip, don't come the raw prawn with me, George. Or coming from Queensland I'd say you'd get the rough end of the pineapple.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Strewth. Chris Uhlmann, Lateline.

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Unemployment rates on the rise

Unemployment rates on the rise

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