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

Unemployment has reached a record high with nearly one million Australians out of work, as highlighted by today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data.  
 
Millions of workers and thousands of businesses are anxious about being left out and left behind in Australia’s first recession in three decades.
 
The Morrison Government must outline a comprehensive plan to promote growth, create decent jobs and drive down unemployment.
 
The impact of the recession has been distressing for hundreds of thousands of Australian workers, with 660,700 jobs lost since the virus outbreak.
 
The effective unemployment rate is much higher than the official measure suggests, given hundreds of thousands of workers have stopped looking for work since the virus hit, in part reflecting the lack of available jobs. 
 
These figures are a lagging indicator, reflecting the first half of June, and not accounting for more recently imposed restrictions, particularly those in Victoria.
 
The devastation in the job market is being exacerbated by growing uncertainty for businesses and workers about the future of key Government support programs, including JobKeeper, HomeBuilder and JobSeeker.
  
Scott Morrison’s decision to sit on his secret JobKeeper review for weeks has seen businesses already start to lay off workers.
 
The less done to protect jobs and support vulnerable workers, business and communities in the coming months, the harder and longer the recovery will be.

Having introduced support for the economy too narrowly and too slowly, Australians can't afford for the Government to withdraw that support too quickly or too bluntly.
 
THURSDAY, 16 JULY 2020