VET News

Latest Statistics Show a Rise in Labour Force Figures

Labour force figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the month of July demonstrate the underlying strength of the Australian labour market and show that the easing of COVID-19 restrictions resulted in some improvement in the labour market. These figures show that seasonally adjusted employment and hours worked increased between June and July.

Bjorn Jarvis, Head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said: "The July figures indicate that employment had recovered by 343,000 people and hours worked had also recovered 5.5 per cent since May. Employment remained over half a million people lower than seen in March, while hours worked remained 5.5 per cent lower. "

Despite today’s positive figures, the Government remains acutely aware that the economic fallout from COVID-19 will continue for some time particularly in light of the outbreak of cases in Victoria. This is why the Government has moved quickly to protect both the health and jobs of all Australians and has put in place sustainable measures to help cushion the impact of the pandemic.

Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator, the Hon. Michaelia Cash, said in order to help keep businesses in business and Australians in jobs, the Morrison Government committed an initial $70 billion in JobKeeper payments to help support Australian workers.  

“The Government remains cognisant, however, of the need to remain agile and the importance of responding flexibly to outbreaks of COVID-19, to help mitigate the impact on the labour market,” Minister Cash said. “In recognition of the difficulties that businesses and employees are encountering as a result of the Stage 3 and 4 restrictions in Victoria, as well as the negative economic impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the State, the Government has made changes to JobKeeper eligibility and is committing a further $15.6 billion over 2020-21 to help keep businesses afloat and workers in jobs. This builds on the Government’s announcement last month of the $1 billion JobTrainer fund to help create 340,700 new training places and a further $1.5 billion in support for small and medium businesses to retain their apprentices.”

Access original media releases via the links below:

• Minister's Media Release
• ABS Media Release 

Date posted Aug 20, 2020