SA unemployment falls
South Australia’s unemployment rate has eased, falling back to 6.8 per cent in April.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data released today shows the state’s jobless rate rate was 0.3 percentage points lower than the 7.1 per cent figure recorded in March.
South Australia’s jobless rate is still worse than the national figure – which was steady at 5.7 per cent – and remains the worst of all Australian states and territories.
The next worst state is now Queensland, after a spike in April.
Tasmania experienced the biggest decrease in its jobless rate, followed by South Australia.
South Australia’s jobless rate (seasonally adjusted) fell despite a small increase in the participation rate, which measures how many people are in the job market.
South Australia’s trend unemployment rate, a more stable measure, was unchanged at 7.0 per cent – also the highest in the country.
State employment minister Kyam Maher said the data showed 10,400 more South Australians were in jobs since last year’s State Budget.
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He said the figure of 814,000 South Australian in work in April was the highest ever monthly employment figure for the state.
He also pointed to the future submarine build and other upcoming shipbuilding projects as a positive for the state’s employment future.
The State Government today released a graphic, showing expected growth in shipbuilding jobs over the next 17 years.
It shows an initial dip in the 2016/17 financial year to 2396 jobs, before an increase to a peak of 5805 jobs from 2026/27.
