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BRENDAN O’CONNOR MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRY 
MEMBER FOR GORTON

New data shows a welcome increase in jobs, concentrated in Victoria where 80 per cent of new jobs were created, but more than 2.2 million Australians are still looking for work or more hours as the patchy recovery continues.

The lack of a comprehensive plan to address still unacceptably high unemployment and underemployment means today’s mid-year Budget update is just another marketing exercise.

The November ABS Labour Force figures confirm that:

• 942,000 Australians are unemployed.
• 1,293,900 workers are underemployed, up by 86,000 on pre-crisis levels.
• 2.2 million Australians are looking for work or for more work.
• Job creation was uneven across states, with 80 per cent of new jobs created in Victoria.

Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg can’t take credit for the Premiers’ and Chief Ministers’ tough decisions in getting the pandemic under control, without which the economy would not have opened up and jobs would not have returned.

Instead of a plan to deal with flat wages, high unemployment, small business closures and big businesses cutting jobs, Australians are getting a wasted recovery which is leaving too many people behind.

THURSDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2020