SA’s jobless rate eases, but remains highest in Australia
South Australia’s unemployment rate fell in December but remains the highest in the nation, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The jobless rate fell from 7 per cent in November to 6.8 per cent in December (seasonally adjusted), and remains the highest in Australia ahead of Western Australia (6.6 per cent) and Tasmania (6.4 per cent).
The more stable trend rate increased from 6.7 per cent to 6.8 per cent.
The national unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent – an increase of 0.1 percentage points over the November figure.
The total number of people with jobs rose by 13,500 in the month, with the market forecasting a rise of 12,000.
Full-time employment rose by 9,300 jobs, while the number of part-time jobs was up by 4,200.
The participation rate, which refers to the number of people either employed or actively looking for work, was up at 64.7 per cent in December from 64.6 in November.
State employment minister Kyam Maher said there had been 16 consecutive months of employment growth in South Australia, with more locals employed than ever before.
He said the 2016 statistics, which showed about 8300 more people were employed in SA than for the same time the previous year, represented the strongest yearly employment growth since 2009.
“There is still work to be done, but we are heading in the right direction,” he said.
– with AAP
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