New data released today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows Western Australia’s strong economy has resulted in the highest number of Western Australians employed on record.
The ABS Labour Force report for July showed WA jobs rose by 6,500 for the month, with a record of more than 1.4 million people employed in WA.
The strong result was driven by an increase of 7,000 full-time workers in July, with 31,700 full-time jobs created in the past two months.
Western Australia’s unemployment rate fell to 4.6 per cent in July – the lowest since December 2013.
A further sign of Western Australia’s strong economic activity was the underemployment rate falling to 6.9 per cent in July, well below the national rate of 8.3 per cent.
Youth employment surged in July, with 7,700 jobs created or 3.8 per cent. The youth unemployment rate fell to 8.3 per cent – this is the lowest of the States and the best result in seven years.
Western Australia’s labour force participation remained the highest of the States at 68.5 per cent, well above the national rate of 66 per cent.
The ABS also released Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) for May 2021, which showed a 2.1 per cent rise in AWE in WA over the past 12 months. WA’s AWE remains the highest of all States at $1,439, above the national level of $1,306.
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
“My priority is to protect the health of Western Australians and create WA jobs.
“My Government’s strong management of COVID-19 has meant WA’s economic recovery continues to outperform many other jurisdictions in the country and around the world.
“Today’s data highlights the importance of crushing and killing COVID-19.
“Not only is our policy working to protect the health and lives of Western Australians, it is also the best economic policy.”
