with
BRENDAN O’CONNOR MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRY
SHADOW MINISTER FOR SCIENCE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS
MEMBER FOR GORTON

New ABS data today confirms even more payroll jobs have been lost since the virus outbreak, during Australia’s first recession in three decades.

As the economic crisis intensifies and the jobless queues grow, more Australians are at risk of behind left out and left behind as a direct result of the Morrison Government’s inaction and ineptitude.
 
Scott Morrison’s lack of a comprehensive economic plan in the middle of this recession poses an increasing risk to the recovery and to jobs as unemployment continues to rise.
 
Today’s Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia by the ABS shows that since 14 March:

• Payroll jobs have dropped by 4.5 per cent and total wages paid has fallen 4.8 per cent.
• Victoria was the state hardest hit with payroll jobs declining by 6.7 per cent.   
• Payroll jobs for women declined by 4.4 per cent and male payroll jobs decreased by 4.8 per cent.
• Payroll jobs in the accommodation and food services sector decreased by 17.9 per cent and fell by 15.1 per cent in the arts and recreation industries.
• Payroll jobs worked by people aged 20-29 decreased by 7.2 per cent and those worked by people aged 70 and over fell by 10.8 per cent.

Some of the hardest-hit industries are those that have been and remain excluded from JobKeeper.
 
The biggest job losses have been concentrated in hospitality and the arts, with young Australians and elderly Australians hardest hit.
The most important test of the Morrison Government’s management of the recession and its aftermath is what happens to jobs and the businesses which create them.
 
Vulnerable workers, businesses and communities need and deserve a plan from the Morrison Government to promote growth, protect jobs, support business and set Australia up for the recovery.
 
TUESDAY, 11 AUGUST 2020