Victoria’s youth unemployment rate remains high at 14.8 per cent, according to today’s labour force figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Our state is struggling to keep up with the rest of the country, with a youth participation rate of just 66.7 per cent. In comparison, the national youth participation rate is 70.7 per cent, and all states other than Victoria have recorded youth participation at over 70 per cent.
Victorian women have taken a hit as well, with more than one in six either out of work or underemployed. Over the past month 9,400 have given up looking for work, and exited the labour force. Female participation has dropped to 60.8 per cent, down 0.3 per cent from November 2020.
The Andrews Labor Government’s jobs crisis stemmed from its mismanagement of hotel quarantine and botched contract tracing, which led to a second wave. But instead of helping businesses through this tough time, Daniel Andrews offered them little support. Too many small and medium, family owned businesses, took a massive hit.
It’s no wonder youth and women, many of whom relied on casual and part-time work, have suffered. There are 57,300 less Victorians in work compared to the start of the pandemic, and three-out-five of these are women. And there are more than 60,000 fewer Victorian youth in employment than there was this time last year.
The Andrews Labor Government must act now and match the unemployed with job opportunities, so that our economy can recover.
Only the Liberal Nationals have a plan to get Victorians back to work and back in business.
Comments attributable to Shadow Treasurer, Louise Staley:
“Daniel Andrews’ clear priority is his union mates, who he has looked after throughout the pandemic. The Premier has neglected young Victorians and women, and they deserve so much more.
“There’s so much more that can be done to help women and young Victorians get back into work. Unlike Labor, the Liberal Nationals have a plan to get our economy moving – to get Victorians back to work and back in business.”
